France's Yoann Jaumel celebrated his 27th birthday on Tueday with victory over Germany
Katowice, Poland, September 17, 2014 – Last night, France's players at the FIVB Men’s World Championship had a double motive to celebrate following their 3-0 victory over Germany.
They did not only take a major step towards the semifinal phase of the competition. They also celebrated Yoann Jaumel's birthday, who turned 27 on Tuesday.
“It is the first time I play a match on my birthday and the nicest gift I received was the victory over Germany and those important three points,” Jaumel said. “Now we only need one more point to secure a spot in the semifinals.”
As he is participating in his first major tournament with the French national team, the competition in Poland is like living a dream for Jaumel.
“It’s a wonderful experience, especially in Poland with all those people in the halls,” he remarked. “Tonight the hall wasn’t full, but it was still amazing and I’m very glad to help my team.”
He also pointed out how difficult the road to the Final Six has been, taking on very strong opponents on the way.
“We are all very happy,” Jaumel said. “First we were in the most difficult pool with five other big teams, and the second round was not different."
“Now we are already among the six best teams in the world, but we want to go further,” he said. “We need to take another step to go into the semifinals and then play for medals.”
Written by Katarzyna Mędrzyk - Young Writers programme