Boris Tadic, President of Republic of Serbia, hosted a special reception for the women’s national team at the New Palace yesterday following their victory in the Women’s European Championship over the weekend.
Tadic congratulated the Serbian girls on their extraordinary achievement, adding that the whole of the country is proud of them.
“I’d like to thank all of you who represented our country in this Championship, we all are more than thankful and proud of you,” he said. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for volleyball, our nation and our country. Thanks to Jelena Nikolic, the captain, for leading this team, which was formed four years ago, right before the European qualifications for the World Championship, where you won your first bronze medal. It was followed by the silver medal at the European Championship and many more. The new generations of players showed up; this means that [Serbia Volleyball Federation president] Aleksandar Boricic and [Serbia women’s coach] Zoran Terzic set a solid foundation for volleyball. We also have good volleyball clubs, such as Red Star and Partizan, two clubs that work together to improve this sport, and [Serbia Volleyball Federation general secretary] Slobodan Milosevic, who is always there to support and improve this sport. I’d like to thank you all for transforming volleyball into an important institution in Serbia. After 20 years, a small country has won both gold medals at the Men’s and Women’s European Volleyball Championship, so again, I’d like to thank you, in the name of the Serbian people. This is a huge success for all of us, we were very excited while watching you on the court. Thank you all again.”
Nikolic then thanked the president before presenting him with a pennant with signatures of all the players and members of the coaching staff.
“I don’t have the right words, the right expressions, to describe the feelings we all felt the moment we realized we achieved our goal,” she added. “I am very proud of being a part of this team, representing my country, with the rest of the girls, the best possible way by winning the gold medal. I would also like to thank the audience for being there, supporting us throughout the entire Championship; we felt your support each and every second we spent at the court, so thank you all again for your support.”
During the reception the Tadic discussed the previous results and the upcoming tournaments with the players and the delegation.
“I think we always managed to organize championships at the highest level possible, for decades, and Serbia is always on top when it comes to organizing sports event,” he added. “And now, we have showed that we are at the top of Europe and the world in volleyball, a sport of great importance and influence. We have set forth the great potential and will to develop further in the future. Our federation has been doing a magnificent job over the years; it has set a stable foundation for growth of volleyball. I did expect a success, but we cannot demand a gold medal; for me, a huge success was reaching the final four, but this gold medal is a crown, not only for this generation, but many more, who have worked hard to achieve what this team has done at this Championship.”
