The Olympian luger has cited conflict and lack of support from the Croatian Luge Federation as the reason.
Daria Obratov entered the history of Croatian sports after becoming the first Croatian luger at the last Winter Olympics. Just half a year later, she has decided to leave Croatia, reports Index.hr on October 1, 2018.
"They thought I was not good enough for the future, that there will not be enough good results, although I have to point out that I am the best Croatian luger and I have confirmed this by going to the Winter Olympics which was a historical achievement. However, other countries have recognized that there is still plenty of room for me to do more in this sport. I received a nice offer from the Netherlands. After a lot of thinking, because I have to admit it is not easy to leave my country, I decided to take that step and accepted the offer,” said Obratov to HRT and explained that the conflict with the Federation had begun even before the Olympic Games.
"This was a family project, I had the support of people in my area who recognized my desire and Olympic dream, thanks to which I achieved this success. Unfortunately, there was no support or any help from the leading people of the Federation. Despite my will and the desire to establish communication, they did not respond to my calls, but after a long period of time they answered and said that the frontman did not want to communicate with me and that it would be best to break the cooperation."
In a Facebook post to her fans, Obratov wrote:
“Life writes really incredible stories, and 8 months ago, I proudly and for the first time in history defended the colors of my homeland at the Olympic Games. Unfortunately, because of the lack of communication and cooperation with the leading people in the Federation and their vision not to see a future in me, I decided to accept an offer to perform for another country. Although the decision was not easy, it is my great honor to announce that I will defend the colors of the Netherlands. I would like to thank everyone who supported me on my sporting journey. One big THANK YOU to the Dutch Federation who recognized my work and desire for new and even more success. I’m looking forward to this year's sporting dreams together!"
