Marta Batinović honestly: It was very difficult for me to come to Podgorica, I was affected by everything that happened around the OI

For the first time after almost 12 months, Marta Batinović will be in goal for Montenegro.

The girl born in Croatia was dropped from the list before the Olympic Games in Tokyo, although Bojana Popović decided to take three goalkeepers to the Far East.

Because of this, she was not present against North Macedonia in the EHF Euro Cup, as well as in the World Cup in Spain, but after many discussions, she decided to return to the "lionesses".

"It was very difficult for me to come to Podgorica, the coach knows that. We talked while the World Cup was going on, I was really affected by everything that happened around the Olympic Games, but you have to move on, life, career and everything goes on," said Batinović.

Montenegro's rival will be the strongest possible - Norway. The first match is played on Wednesday at 18:XNUMX in "Bemax Arena", three days later there is a duel in Larvik.

"Norway is the number 1 power and will certainly be so for a long time, because they have a fantastic team. I'm glad to be here and meet some girls for the first time. It will be a good experience to get to know each other better by November. I hope that I will show myself in the best possible light and that I will be fully prepared for what awaits us at the European Championship".

Batinović defends brilliantly in the jersey of Gloria Buzau, who upset the hierarchy in Romanian handball.

"It's stupid for me to talk about myself, but after what happened this summer, I came to the club and defended for 60 minutes. My team won both the Cup and Supercup of Romania, it has never happened that such a small club won cups and took points from both Vlcea and Bucharest. I am in very good shape, the statistics show that, I hope that I will preserve my health and be ready for every match in the club and in the team of Montenegro", concluded Batinović.

Captain Jovanka Radičević, who today received the award for the best handball player in Montenegro in the 2020/2021 season in the premises of RSCG, believes that March of this year and last year, when the "lionesses" defeated the Norwegian women 28:23 in the "Verde" hall, cannot be compared ".

"It is difficult to make a parallel, because we are in a different composition. What encourages me is that whenever we play against Norway, it is not necessary to waste words on inspiration and motivation. We wish everyone the best, they awaken in us what no other national team does. I'm glad that Milena and Marta have joined, all this is a good prelude to what awaits us in November," the 35-year-old left wing pointed out.

The recipe against Norway is simple, but very difficult to implement.

"The match will be extremely difficult. The result is not imperative, but we must play as well as possible in defense and attack. We know the recipe against them, to play hard and aggressively in defense and prevent the counterattack, which is their strongest weapon", said Radičević.