Radović after the historic bronze: An incredible success

Montenegrin table tennis player Filip Radović said that he is proud of the medal he won, but also of the way he played the table tennis tournament at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Radović won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, the first in the history of the Montenegrin Paralympic movement.

He pointed out that it was an incredible success, stating that he is proud of how he did the tournament.

"I am very happy with how I played and the way I did all the matches. On the way to the medal, I beat two table tennis players whom I have never beaten before. They are the Chinese Lian Hao and the Austrian Kristijan Gardoš", said Radović to the MINA agency.

He pointed out that in the semi-final he lost to the world's leading tennis player 3:1.

"I had a chance to take the match to the fifth set, but in the decisive moments he showed why he is the number 1 player and why he is better than all of us. I am satisfied with how I played that match and what kind of resistance I put up," said Radović.

He emphasized that he expects a good performance in the team competition, with Luka Bakić.

"We start on August 31st, I hope that I will prepare even better, repair my groin injury and that we will play good games," said Radović.

Radovic finished the competition in the group as first place with victories against Joel Coghlan from Australia 3:1, Chinese Lian Hao 3:2 and Nigerian Alabi Olufemi 3:0.

In the quarter-final match, he eliminated Austrian Christian Gardoš 3:1 (11:8, 11:8, 12:14 and 11:8) and won the bronze medal.

He was separated from the fight for the gold medal by a 3:1 loss to Poland's Patrik Chojnowski (13:11, 9:11, 11:4 and 11:9).

In Tokyo, Radović won his fifth medal at major competitions, after winning bronze at the European Championships in Vejle in 2015 and Laško in 2017, and silver in Helsingborg in 2019.

He also won a bronze medal in the team competition in Helsingborg.

The second Montenegrin representative in Tokyo, Luka Bakić, ended the competition in the quarterfinals with a 3:0 defeat against Čojnovski (11:8, 11:5 and 11:4).

"I lost to the leading tennis player in the world, Patrik Chojnovski. I was hoping to put up a stronger resistance, but he outplayed me and showed why he is the best. I am satisfied, being among the top eight is no small thing. There remains the team part in which we will look for our chances for a high ranking", said Bakić.