Scholarship holders of the International Olympic Committee, Danilo Pantić and Nikola Gardašević are ready for the new season. The Montenegrin judo national team members completed the high-altitude basic preparations without injuries and are now practicing judo under the supervision of national coach Georgi Petrov in Nikšić.
For Pantić, who will turn 23 in February and a year older than Gardašević, the season should start at the World Cup in Sofia at the beginning of next month.
"We need to get a plan and program of performances in the upcoming season, but certainly our goal will be medals at the European Championships in Tel Aviv in April and the World Championships at the beginning of September. In the Bulgarian national sports base "Elmeken" we trained three times a day at 25 days of stay, and in addition to running and the gym, we also had judo training. Everything went well, we are physically well prepared and full of optimism. In Nikšić, we continued to work according to the same program until the New Year, and after a two-day break, we are now training we do judo and sparring," Pantić said.
In 2015, he was the European junior champion, and the previous season, he missed out on bronze at the European Under-23 Championship in the very finish of the fight on the tatami of SC "Morača".
"That defeat made me not satisfied with the performance of the previous season, but after the operation in 2015, now I feel that I have no more problems with my hand and I expect that this and the next seasons will be ours. We are young and ready to work relentlessly, so if if injuries bypass us, we can get involved in the fight for the biggest medals. Despite the fierce competition that reigns in this sport, our goal is medals, European and world. In the fight for Olympic points, 200 top judokas in my category up to 100 kilograms will enter, and only 30 will be able to win a visa for the 2020 OI. It is a mitigating circumstance that only the best-ranked from one country can get a visa, and I am currently 73rd on the IJF list," Pantić explained.
Along with Pantić and Nikola Gardašević, the junior representatives of Montenegro, Aleksandar Tomić, Nikola Stanišić and Novak Ostojić, also went through the preparation program in Bulgaria.
"We were lucky to finish the 25-day preparations at 2.100 meters above sea level without injuries. I know how important this is, because last season I missed three important months due to a jaw injury. I fell to 215th place in the IJF ranking of the category up to 73 kilograms, but in just the last three months of the season, I managed to place myself in 55th place with great results and end the year as the best-ranked Montenegrin judoka. It is a great success, because there are about 300 top fighters in my category. Third round at the World Championship in Budapest, the title of the champion of the Balkans, but also the fifth place at the Grand Prix in Zagreb, they brought me a lot of points. I regret the medal at the Grand Prix in Zagreb, but I lost in the fight to enter the final and then the match for bronze," he emphasized is Nikola Gardašević.
He expects to win the first points in the new season at the World Cup in Sofia.
"I hope that in Sofia we will pay for the great work in the preparations, and then through the Grand Slam in Paris we will prepare for our first goal - winning a medal at the European Championships in Tel Aviv. Our goal is medals, and we hope that the Federation will allow us to participate as much as possible in the The Grand Prix and the Grand Slam tourers, which bring the most points. Admittedly, we are not burdened with them this season, because the most important things are good placements and victories, and the real fight for Olympic visas starts next season and in the first half of 2020. , therefore, the goal of a medal this season. I have the will and desire to fight for that goal, but also help from my brother Nebojša, who competes in the category up to 81 kilograms. He, however, had to miss the preparations in Bulgaria due to an injury. I am very grateful means that at all times I have support and a sparring partner in my brother," Nikola Gardašević pointed out.
However, he is not the only current champion of the Balkans in the family...
"My sister Tamara trains with the same will and desire and we are proud of that. Such an approach brought her a gold medal at the cadet Balkan championship," Nikola concluded.
Bonus video:
