France star Gruda: ''We can win gold at the Olympics''

SCHIO (Italy) - Sandrine Gruda is experiencing a first in her famous career.

The France national team star and leading player of Italian giants Famila Basket Schio is not playing basketball because of a pandemic. A nationwide lockdown has been in place in Italy since mid-March, as the country battles against COVID-19.

Gruda is making the most of a difficult situation. She's resting in order to be as strong as possible for a challenging 2021, when France will take aim a couple of prestigious titles.

"IF WE CONTINUE LIKE THIS, WE CAN WIN GOLD AT THE OLYMPICS."- Gruda on France winning the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Bourges

France is set to co-host FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2021 from June 17-27, 2021.

The MVP of the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Bourges will then lead her country at the Tokyo Olympics, which have been postponed a year and will now be staged July 23 - August 8.

From her home in Schio, Gruda spoke to FIBA.basketball.

It's a tough time for everyone. How are you feeling?

Good. I am healthy. Everything is fine. I live in a nice place, almost in the mountains, with a lot of greenery around me. There is a garden in my residence and I can get out of my apartment. I don't feel stuck at home or oppressed by this confinement. It matters.

As a profesional athlete, how does one live in this situation?

At first, I did not understand why I was asked this question. And then, after hearing a lot of talk around me, and by reading, I understood that some sportsmen had lived this situation very badly.

For me, that isn't the case. I don't have any deadlines to meet.  The Italian championship is canceled, the Olympic Games postponed. I will therefore start to play again at the end of August or beginning of September.

Confinement began on March 9 in Italy. For me, it started on the 12th, when I returned from a trip. And as of March 12, I put my basketball sneakers aside and went into another routine. I set new aims. My goal is to be good. I see it as a positive experience, an opportunity to rest my body, completely, - both physically and mentally. And I will resume basketball with pleasure. For me, sport is as important as taking a shower whether you're a professional sportsman or not. I must also say that I am not worried about my metabolism or my shape. I'm not gaining weight and whatever happens, I'm very careful with staying in shape -  in competition or out of competition. Overall, our careers are demanding. It drains you mentally, physically, the demands of clubs, the French team campaign, so I'm happy for once to have nothing to do.

The last competition you played with France was the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Bourges and you won all three games, including a victory over Australia. You were also named MVP of the tournament. What did this event do for the team?

I have very fond memories of this tournament. Not only because of the results, but also the way in which they were obtained. What was wonderful to see was how we could be in symbiosis all together, working towards a goal. It was great. I also really liked our ability to execute the game plan despite a very short time together. These two reasons, they give me confidence for the future. I said to myself: if we continue like this, we can win gold at the Olympics. 

Do you think you can you beat the Americans in Tokyo?

Honestly, yes. We're probably the only team that can challenge the Americans from an athletic standpoint. That's first. The French team has never had as much talent as today. Finally, the game is also played on the mental level.  If we happen to be stronger mentally, I am convinced that we can challenge them and in a game, anything is possible.

We shouldn't be any less ambitious because of a fear of failing. It makes everyone panic, everyone is afraid to say what they think. I'm not. I want to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Afterwards, if I am interviewed and it was not successful, I would be able to say that I am disappointed. No problem. People are afraid to say what they think because they are afraid to justify themselves afterwards, explain why the goal wasn't reached. Maybe it puts pressure on them. For me, on the contrary, it creates the opposite effect. It motivates me. I work like this. By objective. If I don't have a goal, I have no reason to do it.

"WHAT I SEE IS THAT WITH THE TEAM THAT WE HAVE, WITH OUR VALUES, OUR QUALITIES, I TELL MYSELF THAT IT IS POSSIBLE. IF WE HAD A DIFFERENT TEAM, I WOULDN'T SAY WE'RE GOING TO WIN."- Gruda

This resonates with what Evan Fournier said about not being satisfied with third place at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019. An attitude that not everyone understood...

Yes, in France, this mentality hasn't caught on yet. We've always shown some modesty in terms of our objectives.

How do you prepare for a summer like the one looming in 2021?

It's going to be tough but this is where our freshness will help us. We are a young team anyway. We will also have to focus on recovery.

Sandrine Gruda already has two Olympic Games under her belt, having played in London and Rio

You already have experience of coming together early as a team for the summer and playing two tournaments in 2012 and 2016. You reached the Olympic Final in 2012 and a Semi-Final in 2016. Is that a good sign for 2021?

Of course, the situation is still very positive. Every practice, game, tournament allows you to gain experience. We will be ready if everything goes how I imagine, providing you also recover well. 

The last thing missing from your list is a gold medal at a global event. Where would gold in Tokyo in 2021 put you among French athletes?

No. (Laughs) I don't think of it in that way. And then I don't see it in terms of lacking something. This is not something I miss. What I see is that with the team that we have, with our values, our qualities, I tell myself that it is possible. If we had a different team, I wouldn't say we're going to win. I'm not going to say that we're going to win EuroLeague Women with Schio for example. I am ambitious but realistic, too.

FIBA