The women's duo of Tina Graudina and Anastasia Samoilova is heading to the European Championship as the top seeds and one of the main favorites of the tournament. After winning silver medals at the Elite 16 stage in Hamburg, the Latvians occupy the second place in the world ranking, trailing only the Brazilian tandem. "We want to win a medal," Graudina said before departing for Poland. According to her, the European Championship has been the main tournament of the year for the team since the beginning of the season. Latvian volleyball players have won the European Championship twice — in 2019 and 2022. However, they have not managed to reach the podium in the last three European Championships. According to Graudina, the team's first task is to reach the quarter-finals and then fight for a place among the prize winners. Such a result would allow them to return to the ranks of the strongest teams on the continent after several less successful European Championships. Graudina and Samoilova will play their first match on August 12 against the Estonian representatives Helene Hollas and Liisa Remmelg. The group A will also feature teams from Ukraine and Spain. Equally ambitious goals are set for the men's pairs. The reigning European champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots approach the tournament ranked second in the world. This season, they have already won the Elite 16 stage in Rio de Janeiro and have reached the podium at several major tournaments. In their opening match of the championship, they will face fellow countrymen Edgars Tochs and Gustavs Auzins. Both pairs regularly train together, and the athletes consider such joint sparring sessions one of their main advantages. Tochs noted that the teams know each other's capabilities well and are almost equal in terms of playing level. According to him, even in training, the competition is fierce for every point, and the official match at the European Championship will be especially interesting. The group winners will advance directly to the second round of the playoffs, while the teams finishing in second and third places will start their battle from the first round of elimination. Another feature of this year's European Championship is its significance in Olympic qualification. The winners of the men's and women's tournaments will receive spots for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The European Championship in Stare Jabłonki will last until August 17, and the Latvian team will compete for medals in both the men's and women's tournaments.