Paralympian Filip Radović said that he was proud of his success at the Games in Paris, stating that he still regrets the final, but that despite the maximum given at that moment, it was only enough for a bronze medal.
He emphasized that behind him is another big competition and another big result.
"I am happy about the fact that in the quarter-final match, despite the great pressure, I managed to be at my level and secure a medal by winning. I am sad about the final, I did not want to settle for bronze, I gave my best in the semi-final, but it simply wasn't at that moment it was enough," said Radović at the press conference.
He thanked the current and previous coaches, stating that they are all an indispensable part of the story.
"Thank you to the people who came to Paris to support me and to all those who gave me an incredible welcome at the Podgorica airport. You really motivate me to continue even stronger and achieve these and even better results," said Radović.
Radović, the second table tennis player in the world, won his second Paralympic medal in Paris, his seventh overall medal from the most important official international competitions.
He has four individual and one team European medal, as well as two Paralympic medals.
The silver was in Helsingborg in 2019 and Sheffield in 2023, and the bronze in the Danish Vejle in 2015 and Laško in 2017. He also has a team bronze from Helsingborg, with Luka Bakić and Dejan Bašanović.
Coach Vladimir Marić said that Radović made a great success.
"The regret remains for that semi-final, a bit of luck was lacking to make a breakthrough and play the much-desired final. However, the Chinese was better that day. Thanks to the fans, who were plenty in Paris, Igor Tomić for his selfless support all these days. You have a great pearls, as a human being and a sportsman," said Marić.
The Minister of Sports and Youth, Dragoslav Šćekić, thanked the Paralympians for everything they had done for Montenegro and its citizens, enabling them to enjoy the results achieved in Paris.
"It is a great fortune when, as a small country, you have so many representatives at prestigious competitions, at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as at other world competitions. This shows that we as a society have a large base in terms of potential and quality that we just need to work with and that everyone in their own way way we need to dedicate ourselves and give our contribution so that we can get the results we are already getting," Šćekić said.
He emphasized that Radović is the pride of Montenegro, but also praised the other three Montenegrin Paralympians.
"I can freely say, without the slightest platitude, that you, Filipe, are our pride and we are very pleased as a country to have such an athlete as a representative who in the end justified our expectations and brought us a medal. With some conversations we had that had we been a little more lucky, we could have won gold or silver, but that is something that awaits us for the future and I am sure that those medals will be in your hands," Šćekić said.
He emphasized that the results of shooter Milan Đinović, athlete Maja Rajković and table tennis player Luka Bakić show that Montenegro had a quality team and that they promise some new and even better results.
"The Ministry of Sports made its contribution, first of all, through selfless, sincere and, most importantly, human support, and then the opportunities we were able to allocate funds for this year, which, fortunately for us, are justified," Šćekić said.
President of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee, Dušan Simonović, congratulated the Paralympians on their achievements year after year.
"I was a witness of growth and development and I know from what heights everything started and what it all came to. I am proud of you, you are part of our Olympic family, and a good relationship and inclusion is the essence of our and your actions," Simonović said. .
He said that Radović achieved an incredible result, stating that all those who are in sports know that it is more difficult to repeat the result than to achieve it. "Filip is a great athlete and has grown into a great man. In sports, after a defeat, the fault is always found in someone else, rarely in oneself. To declare that the opponent was better and that he knew that after three victories, the day of defeat would come. To admit defeat and to congratulate the opponent, that's true Olympism and Olympic values. I'm happy about that fact and Radović should be like all Montenegrin athletes," said Simonović.
He emphasized that Radović wrote the history of Paralympic and Montenegrin sports in general, and results can only be expected from him.
"We should know that it is not easy to win a medal. The very placement at the Games is a great success, and only heroes can win a medal," Simonović said.
The President of the Paralympic Committee of Montenegro, Igor Tomić, said that the path to the medal was demanding, thorny and difficult, but in the end very successful.
"Here we are at the end of a road that we called "from Tokyo to Paris". We are bringing down the curtain on another, slightly shorter, Paralympic cycle that was very demanding, thorny, difficult, but especially thanks to the athletes led by Filip Radović, very successful for the Montenegrin Paralympic Committee," Tomić said.
He said that he is proud of the continuity of Radović's growth as an athlete and as a person.
"I am proud of what Čedomir Damjanović did in Cetinje, and what he is doing today, what Radović got in the Lupulescu family and what Vladimir Marić continued in a modern and sophisticated way," Tomić said.
He praised the organization of the Games, stating that Paris has set a serious task for the future hosts of the multi-sport competition.
Tomić also thanked the Montenegrin media for their support during this trip.
"I especially want to thank the Montenegrin media for their unreal professional, human and empathetic support throughout this journey, especially the coverage of the Paralympic Games in Paris," Tomić concluded.
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