Ekaterina Antropova says yes to role change to coexist with Egonu

In the summer of 2023 Ekaterina Antropova had made her debut in the blue jersey. Within two seasons she became an increasingly valuable tactical pawn for the national team led by Julio Velasco. Now, however, a completely new phase opens up for her: the transition from opposing player to dunker, a transformation that could make her one of Italy’s reference points ahead of the European Championships at the end of the summer. No longer a simple alternative to Paola Egonu, but a complementary player. The first confrontation with Velasco about the role change came at the Courmayeur Cup, late last September, right after the world title. “He asked me if it was something I would feel like doing, and I had no doubts about the answer: ‘absolutely yes, if I can be useful to the team,'” Antropova tells Gazzetta dello Sport.

Attached to the Azzurro group only a few days ago, the player admits that the impact with the new task requires mostly mental work. “Definitely I have to work a lot mentally as well because I am a person who demands a lot from myself. But this I can do in my role. The same approach would not help with the new task also because really this is the first time I am seriously working as a dunker.” On the possible future alongside Egonu, Antropova maintains caution: “Let’s deserve the position first then if it happens I will be happy about it. If we can coexist and do well for the national team it will be great.”

The change of role will not be the only change in the coming months, however. After five years at Savino Del Bene Scandicci, Antropova is ready to move to Turkey, to Eczacıbaşı Dynavit. “It is a change I wanted to undertake. I had a very good time in Scandicci, but I always had the idea that at my age staying too much in the same place leads to stagnation, to a halt in growth. So I accepted the proposal to move abroad.”