Best opposite hitter of the Under 21 World Championship. Silver medal around his neck. Tommaso Barotto demonstrated his true worth, confirming himself as a “great promise” in Italian volleyball. Unfortunately, Italy lost the final, won by Iran 3-1 (15-25; 25-1; 25-22; 25-14) in Jiangmen: Fanizza’s team had reached the final of the competition undefeated, but Iran prevailed in the decisive match. For the Azzurri, however, it is a silver medal that tastes like gold and which once again confirms the excellent state of health of Italian youth volleyball, with an eye to the future. A future that has a name and a surname: Tommaso Barotto. The 20-year-old from Rovigo was the best Italian athlete in the final (with double figures—14—like his teammate Pardo Mati), but the greatest accolade (besides the silver medal) for him was, of course, the title of best opposite swimmer of the World Championships.
Tommaso Barotto, on the World Championships: “It’s disappointing not to have crowned a splendid run with a gold medal, but if they’d asked me in June to sign for the silver medal, I would have done so without a second thought. We’ve reached this World Championships after two years in which we haven’t performed at our best, but personally, I was absolutely convinced of our strength.
