At the recently held European Cup, hosted by Podgorica, Akademika judokas won three medals for Montenegro. The brothers were decorated with a bronze medal NebojÅ¡a i Nikola Gardašević, including Novo Raičević.
This result is just a continuation of the successful performances of the judoka from the Nikšić club, which has held primacy on the domestic scene for decades.
- The penultimate weekend in September was very successful for our club. Three medals were won. Unfortunately, we also had an injury Aleksandar Tomić in the category up to 100 kilograms, some competitors failed, and part of the team did not participate due to injuries, which certainly reduced the total score. All in all, we have to be satisfied with the fact that only our club won three medals for the Montenegrin national team, while only one medal was won from the entire national team. This shows the superiority of our club in the senior age group, which makes up 90 percent of the national team of Montenegro - he said in an interview with "Vijesti". Danilo Pantic, director of Akademik.
The academic has been dominating the tatami mat for decades and represents one of the most beautiful sports stories in the city under Trebjes, and the recipe for success is simple, but not at all easy - work and dedication.
- There is no secret to success, judo as a martial sport requires daily work and dedication to this noble skill. In some martial arts, they prepare for the competition for three to four weeks. After that, there is a break, and in total they have two or three such performances a year, while with us, dedicated work and a training process throughout the year is mandatory. The medal can be won in one day, in a few hours of the tournament, a minimum of five to six fights must be won to win the medal and there is no make-up exam. After the first defeat, you go home, which means that it is a very, very demanding and difficult sport - points out Pantić.
The people of Nikšić excel in almost all age categories, and from almost all tournaments, the Akademika youngster regularly brings home trophies, as well as a handful of medals.
- This year, Akademik won a convincing first place in all state championships and national tournaments out of a total of 35 clubs from Montenegro. In our club, daily training sessions are held in four age groups. This means that all ages and weight categories are covered. We are, as they say, the "old forge" of training, with strict discipline and intensive work. There are also long-term coaches with whom many generations have passed and grown up, including mine, and ten of us competitors have been in the club for more than 25 years. The academy is our second home and we all contribute to the maintenance and tradition of the club. In addition to daily training in our premises, there are also judo tournaments in the region and beyond, which allow children, in addition to travel, socializing, an opportunity to prove themselves and compete, meet their peers from other cities, and separate from their families. All this helps the development of the child himself and independence. During one year, children have an average of five to 15 tournaments, so that after a certain time spent in judo, individuals already have behind them both the result status and the possibility to travel to the countries of the Balkans, which they certainly would not have the opportunity to do outside of sport - says Pantić. .
Pantić, who has not yet given up fighting on the tatami despite being the director, is of the opinion that Montenegrin judo is not in the best condition because competitors end their careers very early and when they need to give the most.
- Of course, the change of generation has taken its toll, so now the period when we from the club, the seniors, who make up the national team of Montenegro, is the only one left. Years will pass until the new generations grow up and achieve or at least repeat the results we had, and I believe and firmly stand behind the fact that we could have achieved much more if we had the support and help of the state, as well as all umbrella organizations of sports in Montenegro - he points out. Pants.
In addition to the work he has been doing for more than ten years at the Brezovik hospital as a radiology technician, Danilo trains two hours a day, even more on weekends, and points out that it is very hard and demanding to produce results at a high level with such a pace of functioning.
- I always repeat that I miss the life of a professional athlete, because that is the only way to achieve desires, goals and results. We will probably spend the rest of our lives in business, but we won't be professionals forever, is his message at the end of the conversation.
As usual, there is no break or respite for the Academician. Many tournaments and competitions are ahead of the judokas of this club, both at the club and at the representative level, so the "harvest" of medals will continue.
We had to throw everything in the water and start again
Danilo Pantić has been the director of the club for more than two years, but he has not given up fighting on the tatami mat. He points out that it is very demanding to be both a competitor and a director at the same time, because in addition to the two training sessions a day he has with the club, there is also a lot of work in another role.
- I must mention that our club was going through a very difficult period since the time of the corona virus, and the policy of the Judo Federation was also involved. For literally two years, we were frozen on every issue, the impossibility of training and performing in tournaments. We were waiting for better times while the club was sinking financially. We started with a big minus, but also with a big motive to get back on our feet and return Akademik where it belongs. We work in silence without excessive exposure, and the results are ultimately the measure of our work - Pantić points out.
He adds that he neglected himself as a competitor, which in his opinion is expected in this situation, but, he says, he did not accept the position of director to stop playing this sport professionally, but to do everything to save the club from shutting down.
- I had a couple of very serious injuries. I'm back in competitive mode, so I plan to continue doing what I really love, which is training and competing. My generation was disturbed a lot by this very time since 2020, in the biggest and best sports form, we had to throw everything in the water and start again - he states.
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