From the special reporter "Vijesti"
When Majda Mehmedović played the final of the Olympic Games, Tatjana Brnović was 13 years old. Two different generations, two different stories, and, it seems, the same emotion. Although behind her are London and Rio de Janeiro, many big matches and victories, 31-year-old Majda welcomed her arrival in Tokyo with delight.
- I think the most important thing is that the Olympic Games take place at all, even though we waited a year longer, because our careers, as well as the careers of all the athletes who earned the right to participate, would not be complete without the Games - says Majda Mehmedović, who through a smile she says she is a "young veteran".
When she thinks like that, how does a 22-year-old woman welcome her debut performance.
- I dreamed about this. Honestly, I did not expect to reach the Olympic Games at such a young age. I am grateful that I have been given that privilege in these years. The feeling is phenomenal and somehow - unreal. Arriving in the Olympic village itself, one feels a special atmosphere, a different emotion - says Tatjana Brnović.
Emotions are a good thing in sports, but for great results it is necessary to channel them.
After two different experiences at the Games - from the brilliant one in London to the disappointment in Rio, Majda Mehmedović is one of the team's leaders. And she likes the role played by selector Bojana Popović and her first assistant Maja Savić at the Olympic premiere of the Montenegrin national team.
- Jovanka Radičević, Marina Rajčić and I have been through all this twice already and we need to be leaders, to help the younger girls to cope with the euphoria, to adapt to a special competition such as the Olympic Games - Mehmedovića points out.
- We talked with more experienced teammates, but I think that the Olympic Games must be felt. We are slowly getting used to the time difference, to the climate, we have rested from the road and we are starting the final preparations for what awaits us - adds Brnovićeva.
It's been a long time since London, and even from Rio, to Tokyo, Brnović is one of as many as nine "lionesses" debuting at the Olympic Games. However, as soon as he gets to the top 12, the expectation is that he can do more...
- London and Tokyo? It cannot be compared. We have a much younger team, first of all. Of course, when you get to the Games, when you enter that inner circle of the best, everyone dreams of even bigger things. I know from experience how difficult it is to win a medal, what we went through to get it in London. It's up to us to do our best, we'll see how long it will take... - Majda points out.
- We will enter the tournament full of desire and great ambition. Our plan is to go step by step, from match to match, but we have our own dreams and I hope we will achieve them - continues one of the youngest members of the handball team.
In major competitions, the quarter-finals are the first goal, in London, Montenegro reached the eight with victories over the hosts Great Britain and Angola, and then through the superpowers of France and Spain to the finals...
- I think we have sporting audacity, but not the experience to calculate. This team has played some big games and had some big wins, we have a good defense, we have a big heart.
Everyone who played against us had a problem. I am sure that it will be like that in Tokyo, that we will make life miserable for everyone, that everyone will have to work really hard to show that they are possibly better than us - Majda is clear.
In the group stage, Montenegro will play in a group with Angola, Japan, Norway, South Korea and the Netherlands.
- Our group is unusual, because most of the selections are from outside Europe, and the matches with Angola and Japan in the first two rounds are very important for us, maybe even crucial for the placement. Therefore, there is no getting used to it, no adjustment, no easy start... We simply have to be the best from the very first game. We came earlier, we will have time to prepare and I am sure that we will enter the tournament in the right way - concluded Tatjana Brnović.
The coronavirus immediately created a problem
The Olympic Village is slowly coming to life, 18 high-rise buildings in the Tokyo suburb of Harumi, receive guests from all over the world. For them, life in the "glass bell" now begins, a life under sporting and psychological pressure, because they will be tested for covid-19 literally every day.
The news of the first positive case among the residents of a unique complex in the suburb of Harumi, which is located in part of Tokyo Bay, confirmed fears that, regardless of restrictions and rigorous measures, the coronavirus will enter the Olympic Games.
- We are doing everything we can to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. If there is an infection, we have a response plan - said the president of the organizing committee, Seiko Hashimoto.
Gojković: We only think of Australia
The water polo national team of Montenegro is in Kashiwazaki, Japan, where it is conducting the last part of the preparations before the start of the Olympic Games.
The "Sharks" will play their first match in the tournament against Australia on July 25, and will train with Serbia until the start of the Games.
- The host called us in 2019 as well, here the coach was the former coach of Montenegro, Ranko Perović. There is also the Serbian national team. We will do a few training sessions with them to try to get in shape. The focus is to get ready for the start of the Olympic Games and at this moment we are thinking about that first game with Australia. I hope that we will stay healthy and that we will prepare as best as possible until the start of the Games - said coach Vladimir Gojković.
Montenegro is in a group with Australia, Serbia, Croatia, Spain and Kazakhstan.
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