14/07/2020 13:00
Nikolay Pavlov announces retirement, will work as sports director for Novosibirsk
News from the National Federations
Luxembourg, July 14, 2020. Russian Volleyball star Nikolay Pavlov has announced his retirement from competitive sport. However, Pavlov will remain associated with the game, since Russia’s heavyweight Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK have hired ‘Kolya’ as their sports director.
Pavlov was the top scorer for Russia when the team coached by Andrei Voronkov claimed EuroVolley gold in 2013, edging Italy in the historic gold medal match held at Parken stadium in Copenhagen. That year was somehow the pinnacle of Pavlov’s international career, since with Russia he secured gold from the FIVB World League Finals in Mar del Plata, Argentina as well as silver at the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup in Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan.
The Ukrainian-born opposite hitter spent most of his competitive career in the Russian national league, with only two spells abroad – in Italy and Slovakia, where he played in the 2019-2020 season that ended abruptly due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pavlov is a CEV Cup winner – in 2012 with Dinamo MOSCOW and the Most Valuable Player of those finals where the Muscovites beat Asseco Resovia RZESZOW of Poland.
Pavlov can now look forward to starting his ‘second’ Volleyball career, working for the side that topped the charts of the Russian Superleague before the premature end to the season due to the coronavirus crisis, with the Siberian team expected to feature among the top contenders for the top honours in the next edition of the CEV Champions League Volley.
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