WARSAW, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Despite not being a favorite, the Poland national ice hockey team dreams of Beijing and "will do everything to secure the ticket for the 2022 Winter Olympics," coach Robert Kalaber told Xinhua in an exclusive interview ahead of the one-year countdown to the Beijing Games.
Last February, Poland surprisingly won the preliminary phase of Olympic qualification as they beat the Netherlands, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Kalaber's players want to continue the momentum and book the ticket for the Winter Games in Beijing. In August they will play in the final tournament of the qualification, in which Poland will face Belarus, Slovakia and Austria in Bratislava. Only the winner will qualify for Beijing.
"We are very happy we have advanced into the final round of the qualification. We have to do everything to play three good games and get the best possible results," Kalaber said.
"We dream of qualification," the Slovak added.
Securing the ticket to Beijing 2022 would be a huge achievement for the Polish team as they haven't played at the Winter Olympics since 1992, when they competed in Albertville, France.
The hosts are considered to be favorites to win the tournament in Bratislava, but Kalaber is optimistic.
"Slovakia has played just one match this season until now, so it's hard to predict how they will perform against us. They have players from the NFL and other strong leagues. I'm sure it will be difficult to beat them," the 52-year-old said.
"I'm aware we are an underdog in this group but we are able to make a surprise. Every victory would be a success for us and I treat every tournament as a chance to develop the team. We go step by step and we just think about showing our best hockey," he added.
Last December, Poland outplayed Hungary 2-1 in a friendly game in Katowice, Poland.
"Our discipline is in a hard situation due to the pandemic as in all countries there are many safety restrictions to follow. I'm happy we could play against Hungary. I had a chance to work with my players and see how it was going.
"The next camps of the national team are planned for June and July, I hope the epidemiological situation will be better and that we won't have to change our plans due to pandemic," Kalaber concluded. Enditem
