Sport

July 24, 2021 - Croatia tennis at Olympic Games -  a good start as Croatian doubles team Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić move to the 2nd round, as does Croatia's only male representative in the singles tournament - Marin Čilić! Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić have overcome their first obstacle in the Olympic tournament. In the first round, they played against Marcelo Demoliner and Marcelo Melo and celebrated 7:6, 6:4.  Brazilians Marcelo Demoliner and Marcelo Melo offered strong resistance to Nikola Mektić and Mato Pavić, but the Croatian pair was still better and took the deserved victory. Mektić and Pavić…

July 24, 2021 - On the second day of the Olympic Games, Croatian athletes recorded great results. Here's our Croatia Olympics July 24 recap.  Brothers Martin and Valent Sinković performed superbly to kick off their Olympic Games campaign in Tokyo. In the first race of the qualifying group, they won with a time of 6:32.41, which was 4.52 seconds faster than second-placed Denmark and 8.58 faster than third-placed Canada. "We are generally satisfied with the race, but we definitely need to be better for the semifinals," said Valent Sinković. Croatian gymnast Tin Srbić was excellent in the qualifying round, and with a…

July 22, 2021 - The first matches of the UEFA Europa Conference League 2nd qualifying round were played on Thursday, featuring Croatian clubs Rijeka, Hajduk, and Osijek. Rijeka and Hajduk both opened the new league with a win, while Osijek drew 0:0 in Poland.  Gzira United v. Rijeka (0:2) Rijeka opened the 2nd qualifying round tonight for Croatian clubs against Gzira United in Malta.  Gzira became known to the Croatian public a few years ago when they came back from a 0:2 Hajduk lead in the first match and celebrated 1:3 at Poljud in the return, sensationally knocking out the Split…

July 22, 2021 - Fitness trainer Pero Kuterovac is known for bringing Olympic medals to Croatia. Will he do the same this year for Croatia water polo and rowing?  Pero Kuterovac is a great strength for the Croatia water polo team - and his qualities in the fitness training of athletes are known outside of water polo. Pero Kuterovac was directly involved in three Croatia medals in Rio, including Damir Martin, who later, according to one study, was the most prepared athlete in Rio. He also worked with boxer Filip Hrgović, reports Sportske Novosti.  For Tokyo, Kuterovac is again involved…

July 21, 2021 - Dinamo defeats Omonia at Maksimir in the first match of the Champions League 2nd qualifying round. Shocked after losing at home to Slaven Belupo to open the new HNL season, Dinamo set off on Tuesday against Omonia looking for redemption and to continue on the road that leads to the Champions League group stage. However, the experienced Nicosia team proved to be a powerful opponent, although Damir Krznar sent out the Croatian champion's strongest lineup. Fortunately, Dinamo defeated Cypriot club Omonia 2:0 (0:0) in the first match of the Champions League 2nd qualifying round on Tuesday at…

July 20, 2021 - Croatia and Russia will meet at Poljud Stadium in Split to close out the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Group H.  The Croatian Football Federation Executive Board has registered Poljud Stadium as the host of the Croatia and Russia match as part of the European qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Qatar in 2022, reports HNS. Croatia and Russia have played four times so far, with Croatia recording two wins and two draws. Recall, Croatia and Russia most recently met in the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup at Fisht Stadium…

July 20, 2021 - Croatian Olympic Committee Secretary-General Siniša Krajač revealed the main challenges that the COC and he personally will face in his current term as the first operative of the umbrella sports association and what we can expect from Croatia in Tokyo this summer.  In an interview with Sportske Novosti, Siniša Krajač revealed to editor-in-chief Robert Šola that demography is a burning national problem and a potentially big problem for the future of Croatian sport because "the base from which we draw sports talents is getting smaller." In this context, he also mentioned the importance of constant investment in…

ZAGREB, 19 July 2021 - The ATP tournament started in Umag on Monday and at the beginning of the event, Goran Ivanišević, a Croatian tennis legend, arrived in this Istrian town from the USA where he was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday. Goran Ivanišević, is the ambassador of one of Croatia's best-known tournaments at the Stella Maris Resort in Umag. The Plava Laguna Croatia Open tournament runs through 25 July. Ivanišević will attend matches played on the court named after him. "I'm really happy to be in Umag. Summer isn't summer without this week in the Stella Maris Resort. Croatia's players…

July 19, 2021 - The 2021/22 Croatian First League (HNL) season opened last weekend with the first round of games played from July 16 to 18, 2021. A look at our HNL round 1 recap.  Dinamo v. Slaven Belupo (0:2) Dinamo and Slaven Belupo opened the new season at Maksimir Stadium on Friday, July 16, 2021.  While the first half went without goals, the reigning Croatian champions were shocked thanks to goals by Krstanovicc and Bogojevic in the 50th and 84th minutes for 0:2.  This victory was only Belupo's second in its 37 visits to Maksimir. The last time they…

July 18, 2021 - Sport may not be one of the things one associates with the Croatian capital, but there is plenty to discover - a look at Zagreb's sporting credentials. Did you know that Usain Bolt smashed the 100 metres meet record in Zagreb with a run of 9.85 seconds a decade ago? The longer I live in Croatia, the less I seem to know, and that applies to Zagreb in particular. The more time I spend there, the more layers it reveals to me.  The summer of sport is upon us, with Euro 2020 behind us and Tokyo…