For every member of the Mongolian women’s volleyball team heading to Berlin, the FISU World University Games are a chance to showcase their skills against the best student players on the planet.
For one of their number, however, the journey offers something much more: a chance to uncover the country of her birth. “It is truly an incredible and emotional moment for me,” Oelun Khurtsbaatar, 24, tells FISU.net.
“I was born in Nuremberg and my older brother was born in Dresden. My parents were students there but we returned to Mongolia when I was only two, so all of my family can speak German, but not me”, explains Oelun Khurtsbaatar. “I always thought to myself, ‘One day, I will go back to Germany’, and now the dream is coming true in the most exciting way. By competing in the World University Games, in the main volleyball stadium of Germany’s capital, Berlin.”
Growing up in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar, Oelun says she was slow to convert to the sport which is now bringing her back to her roots.
“I had no interest in volleyball at all when I was young, and even though many people encouraged me to play, I simply ignored them,” she says.
“But when I was in ninth grade, I watched the older kids play a match at school and it looked like it was happening in slow motion. The setting was on point, they were jumping so high, and the attacks were so strong.
“And that’s when I thought, ‘Wow, this sport is very beautiful and captivating’. And ever since then, I’ve been playing volleyball.”
Growing appeal
In a country better known for wrestling, the sport has been surging in popularity in recent years.
“We all love volleyball, for sure,” Oelun, who plays for the Enacoree club in Ulaanbaatar, says. “And our domestic league has been improving year-on-year. The entertainment, the promotion, and the number of foreign players are all increasing. As a result, our league has become much more competitive.”
Oelun and her teammates will need every bit of match sharpness in their opener on 16 July against the defending FISU Games champions, China – a near neighbour of Mongolia geographically, but poles apart in terms of performance.
“In my opinion, the Chinese women’s volleyball team is one of the top five in the world and having the chance to play against them and gain that experience is a great honour for me,” Oelun, who is studying to become a physical education teacher, says.
The group stage does not get any kinder for Mongolia, who face the host nation and a partisan crowd at the impressive Max-Schmeling Halle in Berlin on 17 July, before Argentina come into view on day three.
‘Big unknown’
With many unfamiliar names on the rosters, Germany’s head coach, Christian Dünnes, says he is viewing Group A through the prism of the senior team world rankings and the most recent FISU Games held in Chengdu in 2023. No surprise, then, which opponent he fears the most.
“China is the absolute favourite – we have to try to keep up,’ Dünnes told the German Volleyball Federation. ‘We could and should be better than Argentina. Mongolia are a big unknown, but we should beat them. Realistically, we can finish second (in the group), but even that will be anything but easy.”
As the ‘big unknown’ with nothing to lose, Mongolia are hoping to upset one or more of their illustrious opponents. The greater goal for their young team, however, is to continue growing the sport in their proud and vast country of only 3.5 million people.
“We have travelled to Russia for tournaments and to South Korea for training camps before, but participating in the World University Games has been a goal of mine ever since I joined the team,” Oelun says.
“I am incredibly excited about this opportunity and I’m sure that I will give everything I have when I’m on the court.”
To book your seats in Berlin for nine days of top volleyball action across four great venues, click here.
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