A few days after Nicole Eleftheriadou, another international polo player decided to put an early end to her career.
The reason for the goalkeeper of Ethnikos, Eleni Sotireliwho announced that she is ending her sports career, at the age of 26 (like Eleftheriadou), just a few months after perhaps the most important moment of her career: the final of the Greek Cup against the Olympicwhere with her own goal she sent the match to penalties and there she blocked her shot… Eleftheriadouto give the “blue and white” the trophy and to be named MVP herself.
OR Sotireli she also won the 2022 LEN Trophy with the National Team, while in the same year she was a member of the women’s national team that reached the final of the European Championship in Split. In her collection she also has a bronze medal with the junior national team from the 2015 European Games in Baku.
The 26-year-old goalkeeper announced her retirement with the following post:
“As an athlete, I am closing a beautiful circle that I loved and wanted to complete, as I made the decision to open an equally beautiful circle for myself and dedicate myself to the subject of my studies. The championship taught me the importance of respect, humility, discipline and total dedication. It taught me that TOGETHER is more important than ego and stronger than anything. It has enabled me to be able to discover and express a wide range of emotions.
I’m grateful for everything I’ve experienced, for all the difficulties I’ve faced along the way and continued, for all those victories and defeats that overwork or sadness didn’t allow me to sleep at night, for those trainings that I thought I had no more stamina for in the end I felt satisfied that I succeeded, for all those times when I exchanged strength and courage with my teammates and the daily routine became more beautiful.
Many thanks to the management of the National Piraeus for all the support these 6 years and to every member of the staff who were always present so that the team achieves its goals.
I thank the coaches that I have been fortunate enough to interact with from the age of 10 until now, as each of them in a different way has provided me with important knowledge.
I thank my teammates who, with their company, eliminated the difficulties and multiplied the joys.
I thank my partner who stood by me with understanding and love not only in the pleasant but also in the difficult times.
Finally, I would like to thank my family for their support and especially my mother who from an early age gave me “wings” so that I could take risks and try new situations and environments”.
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
