Montenegrin table tennis players in Helsingborg showed that even small ones can be big in incredible matches with table tennis superpowers and great players Mateo Bohas, Jose Manuel Reyes, Bas Hergelink, Igor Mishtal and Patrik Čajnovski, said the president of the Paralympic Committee (POK) Igor Tomić.
The table tennis team finished their performance at the European Championship for People with Disabilities with two medals - a silver medal for Filip Radović and a bronze medal in the team section.
Tomić especially thanked the professional team, which, as he said, was the guarantor that the result was not accidental.
"Thanks to Cedo Damjanović, Ilija Lupuleski, one of the best table tennis players this region has had. He helped prepare the national team and gave a special touch to the result. A big thank you to Nikolaj Lupulescu for everything he did, not only for the Paralympics in Montenegro and Filip Radović's result, but in the human sense with his family, he accepted him as his member at the age of 15 and made him a great champion." Tomic said at the press conference.
He thanked the state of Montenegro and the Ministry of Sports and Youth led by Minister Nikola Janović.
"They supported all these years, and this year they supported the POK program the most. which is very demanding and complex. "Without such support, our table tennis players would not be where they are and they would not have returned to the state of Montenegro with such a result," said Tomić.
According to him, staying competitive in the world of Paralympics is complex, especially in the harsh way of qualifying, such as in table tennis.
"You have to play literally day in and day out at the highest level in order to reach the ultimate goal - placement in Tokyo, where I expect we will have one, and maybe even a team," Tomić said.
He emphasized that the placement of Radovic in Tokyo is one of the biggest projects in the history of POK.
"I hope that Bakić will join him in Tokyo, through the Viner tournament - as a final qualifier and win a visa to Tokyo as a winner. I hope that Montenegro, in addition to certain athletics and I hope swimmer Ilija Tadić, will also have table tennis for the first time at the Paralympic Games," Tomić said.
National team coach Nikolae Lupulescu thanked Tomić and the Radović family for their trust and support.
"Radovic's silver medal is the result of five years of hard work - five to six hours a day. After the bronze medals in Vail and Laško, silver came in Helsingborg. Great success was also achieved in the team competition, where we managed to match Luka Bakić with Radović and lead them to a medal", said Lupulescu.
Radović won the silver medal in the individual competition with five wins in six matches.
He also recorded two triumphs in the team part of the championship.
He won a place among the top eight as the first in the group, with victories against Spaniard Ander Cepas 3:0 (12:10, 11:8, 11:5), Frenchman Mateo Bohas 3:1 (13:11, 11:7, 10: 12, 15:13) and the Italian Lorenzo Cordu 3:0 (11:6, 11:6, 11:5)
In the quarter-final match, he eliminated the Dutchman Bas Hergelink 3:2 (12:10, 11:4, 9:11, 13:15, 11:5), while in the semi-final he defeated the Polish Igor Mištal 3:1 (11:7, 11 :5, 6:11, 12:10).
In the final match, he was defeated by the Polish Patrik Chojnovski 3:1 (11:3, 13:15, 11:6, 11:4).
Radović won his first European silver medal in Helsingborg, after winning bronze at the previous two championships, in Vail in 2015 and in Laško two years later.
"I am very happy and satisfied with the result, no one could have expected that we would win two medals. In the individual part, I played at a high level and as the matches came, I improved my form. This resulted in a silver medal. In the final, I was defeated by Čajnovski, by the best player in the world," said Radović.
Radović pointed out that the team, which included Luka Bakić and Dejan Bašanović in addition to him, started the team part worse than expected.
"We were improving our form and in the direct match for the bronze medal we beat Spain, the silver medalist from the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. We pulled off a surprise and celebrated in two dramatic matches in doubles and singles, in which I beat Reyes. We achieved great success, many thanks to everyone who supported me", said Radović.
When asked which of the eight matches he played was the most difficult, he emphasized that it was the quarter-final against Gergelink.
"The most difficult was against Hergelink, where I won 3:2 in an uncertain match. In the match, in which I had a constant advantage, I led 2:0 in the sets and 6:2 and 9:6 in the third. I started to celebrate before the end of the match, which my opponent took advantage of and took the set, and then the second. In the fifth, I took the lead early and kept it until the end," said Radović.
At the start of the team part, the Montenegrin selection was defeated by France 2:1, while in the next two rounds it won against Russia and Spain 2:0 each and won the semi-finals as the runner-up.
In the match for the final, she lost to Poland, the new-old champion, 2:0.
Team member Luka Bakić said that he hopes that they justified the expectations of the Montenegrin public with the medal.
"Congratulations to Radović on a phenomenal game. I didn't start the tournament as I wanted, but I improved my form and in the third round I beat the excellent Spaniard, Ruiz Reyes. In the team part, together with Radović, I managed to reach the desired level of play, which enabled us to win a medal. I believe that in the next competitions the medal can be even more brilliant", said Bakić.
Bašanović said that, although he was the oldest in the team, he had the honor and privilege to represent Montenegro with Radović and Bakić at such a big and important competition.
"Participating in the EP is a special feeling, which carries a special emotion of belonging to something. Representing your country and performing under the Montenegrin flag is a privilege. This is difficult to experience in some other competitions, in which I have participated so far. I had the privilege of performing together with Radović, who is bringing home a medal from his third championship. He is truly, in a sporting and human sense, the leader of the national team," said Bašanović.
He pointed out that Bakić showed his potential by winning over the second holder of the EP.
"Together, they will show their potential at the next championships and make Montenegro happy with new medals. I am sure that in the coming period, at some big competition, we will listen to the Montenegrin national anthem. I hope it will be in Tokyo", said Basanović.
Bakić and Bašanović's debut individual appearance at the European Championship for people with disabilities in Helsingborg ended in the group.
The European Championship brought together 296 competitors from 35 European countries.
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