Sport

ZAGREB, Aug 12, 2020 - Croatia's long-distance swimmer Dina Levacic (24) on Tuesday failed to swim the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland due to extremely difficult conditions, ending her endeavor five kilometers before the finish. Earlier this year Levacic told a news conference that she would try to conquer the 34-kilometer-long North Channel between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland in the period between 10 and 16 August. After 11 hours of swimming and 38 kilometers, five kilometers before the finish, the crew decided that I should get out of the water, said Levacic. Levacic has already swum four of the Oceans…

August 10, 2020 - The HNS Executive Board has decided that the matches of the Croatian First League, the Second HNL, the Croatian Football Cup, and the youth competition will be played without the presence of spectators. HNS announced on its website: "At the proposal of the Competition Commission of the HNS and the Working Group for the Return of Football, the Executive Board of the Croatian Football Federation decided that the matches of the Croatian Telecom First League, Croatian Football Cup, Second Croatian Football League, First Croatian Junior Football League and First Croatian Football league for pioneers and cadets in…

August 10, 2020 - Atletico Madrid has confirmed that one of the two players positive for coronavirus is Croatia national team player Sime Vrsaljko. The other is Argentine Angel Correa, and both have no symptoms, reports Index.hr. Atletico conducted regular testing of players and members of the professional staff on Saturday, and announced on Sunday that the two players were positive, but did not want to reveal their identities, which they did today. Tests were repeated yesterday and no other club member tested positive for coronavirus. "The club doctors allowed the identities of the players to be revealed in order to…

August 10, 2020 - A draw was held for the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Among the names were Croatian clubs Dinamo Zagreb and Lokomotiva. Index.hr reports that the Croatian champion was the top seed in the draw for the champions and drew the winner of Romanian club Cluj or Maltese club Floriana. Lokomotiva, which participated in the draw of teams that did not win national championships, drew Vienna Rapid, the easiest possible rival in the competition of Plzen and Besiktas. Dinamo was unlucky in the home draw, too, and will play away on August 25 or 26,…

August 10, 2020 - A Lokomotiva footballer has tested positive for coronavirus, whose name has not been released. The club issued a statement on Sunday evening.  "A Lokomotiva player who returned to Zagreb with a fever after a five-day break was tested for COVID-19 and the result was positive. According to the Personal Data Protection Act (GDPR), we are unable to disclose the identity of an infected person. The competent epidemiological service was immediately notified, which imposed a measure of strict self-isolation on the player, all following the recommendations of the Croatian Civil Protection Headquarters and the HNS working group," Lokomotiva…

August 9, 2020 - Croatian basketball player Dario Saric was solid in the Phoenix Suns' victory against Miami Heat last night, as was Ivica Zubac, whose LA Clippers outplayed the Portland Trail Blazers. The Phoenix Suns (31-39) beat Miami 119-112, with Saric scoring ten points in 22 minutes on the court (shots in play 2/5, three-pointers 2/3) and recorded eight rebounds and one assist and one steal. With 35 points, Devin Booker was the top scorer for the winning team, which is undefeated since arriving in Orlando and is currently tenth in the Western Conference. He ain't missing pic.twitter.com/arbq6OiVMB— 5-0…

August 7, 2020 - Croatian tennis player Petra Martic advanced to the quarterfinal of the WTA tournament in Palermo - the Palermo Ladies Open. In the 2nd round match, after more than two and a half hours of play, she defeated Russian Ludmila Samsonova 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. Martic, who was appointed the first seed of the tournament in Palermo for the first time in her career, had a tough match against the 21-year-old Russian, currently the 117th player in the world. In the first set, Martic managed to deny Samsonova's eight set-points, but not the ninth. Martic then had a break…

August 6, 2020 - UEFA will allow Balkan clubs from Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to meet in the Champions League and Europa League qualifiers, with one exception. Index.hr reports that UEFA has lifted restrictions that clubs from Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot meet in the Champions League and Europa League qualifiers. However, the rule that clubs from BiH and Serbia cannot play against Kosovo clubs still applies (and the same rule applies to national teams from before). This practice was introduced in 2007 after the riots in Mostar at the match between Zrinjski and Partizan. As the…

August 6, 2020 - For the third year in a row, Istra 1961 has managed to maintain its first league status through additional qualifications and will continue to play in the company of the best next season. While Istra celebrated 3-0 in the first match at Kantrida Stadium in Rijeka, they lost the return qualifying match to Orijent 0-1 (0-0). Ilicic scored the only goal in the match in the 49th minute.  As Istra 1961 convincingly won the first duel, it seemed that the return would be just a formality. However, Orijent played a great game in Pula and only needed to better realize…

August 5, 2020 - 222 defenders were killed in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County during the Croatian War of Independence. 222 torches are traditionally burned in their honor on Krk Bridge to commemorate Operation Storm. Operation Storm, a strategic victory in which the Croatian Army liberated Croatia, began on this day in 1995. It is considered the most important military offensive of the Croatian War of Independence.  Index.hr reports that during the Croatian War of Independence, from 1991 to 1995, 222 defenders were killed in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, and 222 torches are burned in their honor on the Krk Bridge. The traditional torchlight…