copravolley

This is where the referees don't help Italy, but I still think Mesiano is better. If the judging had been pro-Ita, Mesiano would have won today 3-2. The fight was a perfect draw.

In my opinion Mesiano and Sadiku look the best here and both will go to Paris. These are the bronze medalists of the 2022 World Championships weighing up to 60 kg. The Slovakian doesn`t have any successes under her belt. Additionally, the fight between Mesiano and Sadiku was 50/50. The Italian is a clear favorite in the match for 3rd place.

Ukrainian women in particular have been doing very poorly recently. In the old days it was the strongest nation in Europe next to Russia, and now they are losing to Poles and other European nations. Maybe they don't have money to prepare?

Tomorrow I'm hoping on three Italian wins: Mesiano, Carini and Charaabi. In general I count on the minimum 2 QOT and I hope that Messiano will get it tomorrow at the 1st time. The Italian women's team seems to be in good shape here. Unfortunately, the men are struggling badly and there is a 99% probability that they will not gain any qualifications here.

My second observation is that the Italian coaching staff should call up to the Olympics all players who obtained at least according to the FINA criteria QOT: Fangio, Restivo, Poggio, de Tullio, etc. The FINA criteria for Paris are very strict compared to, for example, Tokyo. I don't know what the federation's goal is in making them even more stringent? It is known that none of these competitors will win an individual medal and can only count on a semi-final, but it was similar in Tokyo: then the entire Italian team consisted of 38 people.

Today, in an interview in Raisport after the competition Ceccon said that he was aiming for double gold in Paris: 100 and 200 backstroke. In my opinion, it was the right decision, because there is no dominant player in the 200 backstroke. Secondly, if Marchand can aim for 3 individual golds, Ceccon can aim for 2. The biggest problem for the Italian team will be with the medley relay. I see 3 options: - waiting for Sette Colli with the hope that e.g. Burdisso or Codia in the 100 dolphin will be below 52 seconds, - betting on Razzetti (today he achieved 52 seconds, but at the top of his form he can get 0.5 seconds off it), - Lamberti in the backstroke and Ceccon in the butterfly (an option considered by the commentators during the Raisport broadcast.