August 3, 2021 - Croatian wrestler Ivan Huklek advanced to the semifinals of the Olympic Games in Tokyo!

Huklek defeated Uzbekistan's Rustam Asakalov 4-1 in the Greco-Roman quarter-final in the 87kg category,  reports HRT.

Huklek thus reached his national team colleague Božo Starčević, who also achieved the greatest success of Croatian wrestling by placing in the semifinals of the Olympic tournament. Starčević did not win a medal in Rio, and Huklek will have two chances to win a medal in Tokyo.

After achieving his first Olympic victory in the round of 16 against US Marine John Walter Stefanowitz by 5-3, he dominated Uzbekistan's Asakalov, a bronze medalist from the 2016 World Champs, in the quarterfinals.

"The first fight against the American was difficult because it was the first fight. Against the Uzbek, I felt I was superior; I realized that superiority and deservedly won. I fought him in Poland two or three months ago and lost, but I wanted him in Tokyo. So the coach and I agreed on excellent tactics against him," said the 24-year-old from Sesvete, who will meet Ukrainian Zhan Belenyuk in the fight for the final.

The 30-year-old Ukrainian is a big favorite for the gold because he is a two-time world champion and Olympic medalist from Rio.

"I've fought him twice already. He's a fighter just waiting for a fight on the ground, and I’m better at standing, so it’s going to be interesting and tense," Huklek said.

At the end of the fight, Ivan looked up and kissed the sky, paying tribute to his sister Marta (11), who passed away this spring, just a few days before Ivan's qualifications for Tokyo.

Ivan Huklel will compete in the semifinals around noon Croatia time.

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August 2, 2021 - 'Discus Queen' Sandra Perković is without a new medal in Tokyo after finishing 4th in the Olympic discus throw final on Monday. 

After winning the gold in London and Rio, Sandra Perković was after a new Olympic medal in the discus throw in Tokyo on Monday. 

Perković made the final after she was third overall in the qualifiers with a 63.75-meter throw. The best in the qualifiers was American Valarie Allman, who threw 66.42 meters, while Indian Kamalpreet Kaur was second with 63.97.

German Kristin Pudenz threw only two centimeters less than Sandra in Group A, Dutch van Klinken was fourth (61.15), and a big surprise was the poor performance of Cuban Deine Caballero, who was only 22nd with 57.96 meters.

But in the final on Monday, Sandra failed to win her third medal at the Olympics, finishing just outside the podium in 4th instead. 

Her best throw flew to a distance of 65.01 meters, and the medal required 65.72, which was thrown by the bronze Cuban Yaime Perez. The silver medal was taken by the German Kristin Pudenz, who threw the best result in her career (66.86), while American Valarie Allman won the gold, throwing 68.98 meters in the first series.

Sandra opened the final with a score of 62.53, which was the fifth result of the first series, hit the net in the second series, and then there was a break due to a heavy downpour at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.

The break lasted almost an hour, and Sandra returned with a score of 65.01, breaking through to fourth place. Unfortunately, her fourth series saw her throw below 60, and she hit the net in the fifth. In the last attempt, she threw 63.25, which was not enough for a medal.

"I can't say I'm proud; I wasn't on the level. It was a tough competition; that’s no excuse. I'm sorry about the first throw; the disc was full of water, the second shot - you don’t throw like that. Then it started to rain; I came back in the best possible way. We warmed up, cooled down. The circle was not good," Perković began after the final. 

"Allman opened the competition great; that's how it's done. You throw and let them catch you. When it rained, she couldn't do anything either. Congratulations to Germany. Something has bothered me here in Tokyo from the beginning; it’s not up to anyone; it’s up to me. I saw from the beginning that it would not happen."

"The first throw slipped out of my hand, the second was savage, and in the fourth series, water dripped from my discus. That’s not the reason; the season was full of trials for me; I survived them all, I came here. I didn't make this. Paris in 2024 will be different. This is not how any cycle ends, not even mine. I hope it will be better there," she added and continued:

"I don't like fast and stupid laps. These were ridiculous distances; a medal was offered. These are not excuses; it's my fault. Fourth place isn’t bad, but it’s not me. I have to concentrate, go home and move on."

"I wanted 68 meters in the first set. But, unfortunately, the whole season was difficult, the Games were postponed, you have to focus again, look for zeal," she said and concluded:

"I fought as hard as I could. Better luck next time."

It was Sandra's 13th grand final, and only the second she was left without a medal. She celebrated at nine, and so far, the only major competition in which she did not win a medal was her first World Championships in Berlin in 2009. She won gold at the Games in London and Rio.

Croatia had another representative in the women's discus, but Marija Tolj was left without a final by only four centimeters.

Source: Index.hr

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August 2, 2021 - Croatia water polo loses to Spain in the fight for first place in Group B on Monday. Croatia will thus play Hungary next in their quarterfinal match, while Spain will meet the USA.

The Croatia water polo team played their last game of Group B against Spain. It was the match for first place in the group, and Croatia only needs a victory to sit at the top. 

Given that Spain is currently at the top of the group, and Croatia lost to Australia, the draw would lead Spain as the first in the quarterfinals.

Coach Tucak announced that the great Paolo Obradović, the hero of the great victory against Serbia, would not play due to a rib injury. T

The first-placed team plays the USA in the quarterfinals, and the second against Hungary.

1st Quarter

Spain opened the game with a 5-meter penalty which they scored for an early lead. Croatia missed on its first attack and Spain came back in their next for a two-goal lead. 

Another penalty for Spain was awarded with 5:30 to go, Bijač saved it to keep the game only 2:0 to Spain. Croatia hit over the game in their next attack. Bijač was brilliant in goal to keep Spain ahead by only two goals with 2 minutes to go as Croatia continued to shoot over Spain's goal. 

Luka Bukić scored Croatia's first goal for 2:1 with less than a minute to go, which is how the first quarter ended. 

2nd Quarter

Both Spain and Croatia missed out on scoring in their first few attacks. The first goal of the 2nd quarter was only scored with 3:46 to go. It was 3:1 for Spain. 

That was the only goal scored in the 2nd quarter, which ended 3:1 for Spain. 

3rd Quarter

Macan scored to open the 3rd quarter and brought Croatia back to -1 for 3:2 Spain. Spain came back for 4:2 with 6:12 to go. Bukić scored a rocket from the outside for 4:3 20 seconds later. Spain went back up to +2 with 5:32 to go (5:3). 

It was 6:3 for Spain, their highest advantage yet, with 4:23 left on the clock. Croatia was unlucky in their next attack to keep Spain ahead. 

Spain made it 7:3 with 27 seconds left in the 3rd. 

4th Quarter

Both sides missed their first attacks to start the final quarter. Fatović scored the first goal of the final quarter for 7:4 with 5:23 left in the match. 

Marcelić was in goal for Bijač to finish the game. It was 8:4 for Spain with 2:41 left. Marcelić saved Spain's final attack to end the game 8:4 for Spain.

This was Spain's 5th win of the Olympic Games. Croatia will thus play Hungary next in the quarters. 

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August 1, 2021 - After winning the silver medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Croatian sailor Tonči Stipanović won his second Olympic silver medal today in Tokyo!

The ten best sailors competed for medals, and among them was the Croatian silver medalist from Rio de Janeiro, who came in third with 74 negative points, only three more than the second-placed Norwegian Hermann Tomasgaard. In the end, he climbed a step higher and won another Olympic silver!

Gold was secured by Australian Matt Wearn before the medal race.

The Mornar Split member had a great start and was holding silver until the first turn, but then after turning the buoy in sailing down the wind, he fell to fourth place. But in the third section with the wind, he came among the leaders again. In a fantastic finish, Tonči entered the finish line fourth, winning silver with a total of 82 negative points.

"It was very difficult, somehow I lost constantly during the regatta after a very good start. I was not satisfied with the speed and I sailed the first stern very badly, i.e., down the wind on the right side I was completely windless and the Norwegian passed there. Luckily Pavlos was still behind, but finding the penultimate or pen-penultimate one is not very good. At that moment, I couldn't even count what happened to the others or if someone was behind me or maybe passing me so I stayed focused on my sailing and after I came to the second buoy I said to myself ‘now I’m going left to the stern, stay calm, sail as I know and it will surely be good," said Stipanović or HRT.

Australian Wearn took the gold with 53 negative points and bronze Norwegian Thomasgaard collected 85 negative points.

"Paris 2024? It’s going to be really hard, I’m getting older and older. I’ll sit down and think about what to do next, I’m not sure yet, maybe I’ll decide to get ready for Paris as well. We'll see," the two-time Olympic runner-up concluded.

Source; HRT

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July 31, 2021 - Croatian athlete and Discus Queen Sandra Perković set the best result of the A group of discus qualifications at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and the third overall to place in the final, which is scheduled for Monday. The second Croatian representative, Marija Tolj, missed the final by four centimeters.

Discus Queen Sandra Perković is looking for her third consecutive Olympic title in Tokyo after London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016. With a throw of 63.75 meters, Sandra was third overall in the qualifiers. The best was the American Valarie Allman with 66.42 meters, while Indian Kamalpreet Kaur was second with 63.97, reports HRT.

Sandra already threw. 63.75 meters in the opening, which was only 25 centimeters shorter than the qualifying norm. The Croatian champion was in an excellent mood at the Olympic Stadium; she even danced after her successful throw. However, she had faulty shots in the second series and the third.

"I am happy that I threw almost to the norm in the first shot. I thought it was probably 64 meters, and that's why I danced, but it's still enough. The circle is slippery and not exactly what suits me; I hate them the most because I'm not a savage but a technician. But, I'm so ready I could throw on the ice. The other two shots were underhand," said Sandra, who also complained about the organization.

"It's awful. 130 people train on just one lap in just an hour and a half. So I threw only seven shots in training, and in normal conditions, I throw about a hundred shots. And they didn't even let me into the stadium for the first few days due to quarantine. We complained, of course, that they did not satisfy us. And Americans go to training every day, the four of them go to a special area and have all the time in the world. But it doesn’t matter. I will wait until Monday night," said Sandra, who is awaiting her third Olympic final and hunt for her third consecutive Olympic gold on Monday.

German Kristin Pudenz threw only two centimeters less than Sandra in Group A, while Dutch Jorinde van Klinken threw 61.15, taking 14th place, leaving her without the final in which the 12 best were placed. A big surprise is the terrible performance of Cuban Deina Caballero, who was only 23rd with 57.96.

"Van Klinken threw 70 meters without any problems, and there is barely 61. I am sorry for Caballero; I love her, even though she took my title in 2015. These are the qualifications; I do not want to fail anyone. It is easier to throw at a rally in Pusca Gora than to throw at this huge and empty stadium at the Olympic Games," said Sandra.

Unfortunately, no other Croatian representative in the final after Marija Tolj took the unfortunate 13th place. With 61.48 cm, she was only four centimeters behind the 12th Brazilian Isabel da Silva. In her first Olympic appearance, Orebić threw 54.76, in the second 61.48, while the third shot went to 60.63 meters.

"I am not disappointed; I am satisfied because I threw over 60 meters at my first Olympic Games. A little trepidation took my toll on the first shot, but I’m happy with 61.48 in the second. I didn’t miss the audience because I love when there’s no one; I’m that type. So everything is fine for me; the only thing is that I managed to break the cardboard bed in the Olympic Village, it tilted to one side, so I had to collect it. Yes, I am alone in the room," 21-year-old Tolj said with calm and, apparently, not at all disappointed.

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July 31, 2021 - A masterful Croatia beats Serbia in the crucial game 4 of Group B at the Olympic Games in Tokyo! Croatia has confirmed their spot in the quarterfinals. 

After opening with a win against Kazakhstan (23:7), unexpected defeat to Australia (8:11), and victory against Montenegro (13:8), Croatia and Serbia met in game 4 of Group B. It was a replay of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games final. The Barracudas then won silver, losing the final 7:11. Croatia and Serbia also met at the 2008 Beijing Games, and the 2nd round match went to the Barracudas at 11:8.

The last time these two national teams met was in June 2019 in the final of the World League in Belgrade, in which Serbia celebrated 12:11.

After Serbia, Croatia closes out Group B with the toughest opponent yet - top-of-the-table Spain. 

1st Quarter

Croatia won the sprint for the first attack, in which Joković scored for 1:0. Joković scored for 2:0 Croatia with 6:16 on the clock. An absolutely brilliant start for Croatia saw Bušlje score 45 seconds later for 3:0! 

Slobodan Kadic 

Serbia scored its first goal with 5 minutes to go in the 1st quarter. 

Lončar scored on a quick counterattack for 4:1 Croatia with 4:06 to go. Bijač was brilliant in the goal to save Serbia's next attack. Obradović made it 5:1 with 2:30 left on the clock. 

Slobodan Kadic 

The 1st quarter ended 5:3 for Croatia.  

2nd Quarter

Serbia's Filipović opened the 2nd with a goal for -1 (5:4.) Bijač saved the following three Serbia attacks to keep Croatia in the lead at 5:4. 

Obradović scored his second goal of the match to increase Croatia's lead to 6:4 with 1:26 left on the clock. The 2nd quarter ended at 6:4 for Croatia. 

3rd Quarter

Vukičević opened the 3rd quarter with an excellent goal for Croatia and a +3 lead (7:4).  Serbia came behind by just one goal with 4:32 to go in the 3rd (7:6), but Joković scored 15 seconds later to give Croatia a better advantage (8:6). 

Slobodan Kadic 

Serbia equalized at 8:8 with 2:48 on the clock.  Obradović was on fire, scoring his 3rd goal of the game to put Croatia back in the lead with just over 2 minutes to go (9:8). 

Luka Bukić made it 10:8 for Croatia with 1:23 on the clock, which was the final score of the 3rd quarter. 

4th Quarter 

Luka Bukić scored his second goal of the game and second consecutive in the game for 11:8 Croatia with 7:44 left in the game. Bijač and Croatia's defense denied Serbia's next attack. The unstoppable Obradović scored for 12:8 Croatia with 6:17 on the clock! 

Bukić brought calm to Croatia with a goal for 13:9 with 5 minutes to go, and Joković scored for 14:9 with 4:16 left! Serbia came back slightly at -3 for 14:11 with 2:13 to go. 

Bijač saved a rocket from Mandić with a minute and a half left, but Serbia scored for -2 (14:12) with 1:11 left in the match. Croatia denied Serbia's final attack to win the game 14:12! 

Slobodan Kadic 

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July 30, 2021 - Tonči Stipanović will enter the race for an Olympic medal in the Laser class from 3rd place! On Sunday at 7:33 am Croatia time, he will have the opportunity to win his second medal at the Olympic Games after winning silver in Rio de Janeiro.

The top ten sailors in the class will sail in the medal race, reports Sportske Novosti.

The Mornar Split sailor has 74 negative points, three more than the second-placed Norwegian Hermann Tomasgaard and two less than the Cypriot Pavlos Contides, otherwise a club colleague. The gold has already been secured by Australian Matt Wearn, he is the successor of compatriot Tom Burton. Tomasgaard, Stipanović, and Kontides will try to secure two spots on the podium in a regatta in which the points are doubled (2, 4, 6, 8...). Every other sailor is quite far away - German Philipp Bühl in 5th place has 85 negative points.

The last two regattas that sailed on Friday proved to be very interesting. Stipanović recorded results of 7 and 10. Through the second regatta, he climbed from 21st place in the first turn, but the key thing was the big drop of Kontides (24), as well as Tomasgaard (19) in the first voyage. In the same way, the legendary Brazilian Robert Scheidt (24, 16) dropped out of the medal competition, falling to 6th place.

Sunday will be another great day for Croatian sport, as the 35-year-old from Split will have the opportunity to climb the Olympic podium for the second time!

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July 30, 2021 - Mate Pavić and Nikola Mektić have taken the gold medal in the all-Croatian Olympic doubles final against Marin Čilić and Ivan Dodig! 

Croatia increased its collection of medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo today by winning both the gold and silver in the final of the tennis doubles tournament, in which Mate Pavić and Nikola Mektić, and Marin Čilić and Ivan Dodig met on Friday. 

First seed Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić reached the finals with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the USA's Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren, while Čilić and Dodig defeated New Zealand's Michael Venus and Marcus Daniello 6-2, 6-2.

Only for the third time in Olympic history, but for the first time in more than 100 years, doubles teams from the same country played in the men’s doubles final. So far, tennis players from the same country have played in the men's doubles final only twice - Great Britain in 1908 in London and team USA in 1904 in St. Louis.

The more dominant and well-coordinated Mektić and Pavić won the first set 6-4, though Čilić and Dodig came back fierce in the second with a break to win it 6-4.

The decision fell in a super tie-break that Mektić and Pavić opened with a furious 6:0. Čilić and Dodig managed to get closer at 8:6, but the best tennis pair in the world took the next two points for the Olympic gold. 

Slobodan Kadic

After winning eight ATP tournaments in their first season playing together, the most important of which is Wimbledon, Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić are the Olympic champions and justified their status as the first seed of the tournament. 

Slobodan Kadic

Thus, the fourth and fifth medals in the history of Croatian tennis at the Olympic Games were officially won. The first two were won in 1992 in Barcelona when Goran Ivanišević won bronze in singles and doubles with Goran Prpić. Mario Ančić and Ivan Ljubičić also took bronze in Athens in 2004.

Slobodan Kadic

Croatia is now on six Olympic medals in Tokyo. Gold went to Matea Jelić, Martin and Valent Sinković, and Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić. Ivan Dodig and Marin Čilić are the first silver Croatian athletes from Tokyo, and Toni Kanaet and Damir Martin won bronze. 

Slobodan Kadic

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July 30, 2021 - Damir Martin increases Croatia's medal count in Tokyo to 4 with an Olympic rowing bronze medal in single sculls!

Croatian rower Damir Martin won the bronze medal in single sculls at the Olympic Games in Tokyo! The gold was won by the Greek rower Stefanos Ntouskos, and the silver by Norwegian rower Kjetil Borch.

Martin paddled the final very tactically. In the middle of the race, he was about two seconds behind the leading trio, and alongside Ntouskos and Borch, Denmark's Sverri Nielsen was at the top. The situation was similar 500 meters before the finish. But in the very end, Nielsen started to give up, and Martin stepped up and passed the finish line 15 seconds before for another big medal.

It is the third Olympic medal for 33-year-old Martin, after the silver in the quadruple sculls from London in 2012 and the silver in the singles from Rio de Janeiro in 2016. He also has two world titles in the quadruple sculls (2010, 2013) and two European gold in singles (2015, 2016).

"This medal is not bronze; this is platinum for me," said Martin after winning the bronze medal.

"Jesus, it began with an emotionally and completely drained guy from Vukovar, who, after hip surgery and a long rehabilitation, was not considered a favorite for the finals, let alone a medal.

Thank you to my family, thank you to my coach Srećko Šuk who never gave up on me, and especially thank you to Pero Kuterovac, who was with me every time and pushed me. Thanks also to you media who have been with me in these five years when I couldn’t make it to the top," Martin began.

"This has been going on all five years, not just this race and everything going on around me. If the Olympics were last year, I would have performed, but it would have been more recreational. I had a bad start; by no means did I feel comfortable in this boat, and even after the quarterfinals, we made drastic changes to the boat, which is not normally done. Luckily, we set it up perfectly, but the start was awful. Halfway down the track, I told myself that if there was a photo finish, I knew where I had lost. In the end, I was very close to the Norwegian and another silver. But I won’t complain about the bronze. In fact, this is not bronze for me; this is platinum," Marin said. 

Source: HRT

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July 29, 2021 - Historic! An unthinkable and spectacular event has happened today not only in Croatian sports history but also in the Olympic Games. Mate Pavić and Nikola Mektić have won today and there will be a Gold Medal Match between Croatian players in Tokyo 2020!

The morning got off to a great start for Croatia at the Olympics, after the couple Marin Cilić and Ivan Dodig beat their New Zealand rivals in the semi-final, thus securing at least one medal for their country. But in recent days, everyone was closely following the fact that two pairs of Croatian tennis players reached the semifinals, as the brand-new champions of the doubles category at Wimbledon, Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić, had also managed to reach those instances.

With the four Croatian tennis players in the semifinals, a bronze medal was already confirmed for the Croatian delegation. But with today's victory for Cilić and Dodig (6-2, 6-2) over their New Zealand counterparts Daniell and Venus, Croatia had already secured at least one silver medal. Even before it happened, everyone was wondering, "What if there was a final between Croats?".

? ovo je čudesnooo! Imamo hrvatski finale u Tokiju te osigurano ? i ? u konkurenciji teniskih parova!

? nakon para Marin Čilić/Ivan Dodig, meč za najviše postolje izborio je na uvjerljiv način i par Nikola Mektić/Mate Pavić koji nije dao šansu Amerikancima! ? pic.twitter.com/eXrLGEulrM

— Hrvatski olimpijski odbor (@hrv_olimp_odbor) July 29, 2021

And that's how it went from imagination to reality. Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić defeated their American rivals Krajicek and Sandgren (6-4, 6-4), and Croatia thus secured a gold and silver medal in tennis in the doubles category, in what will be an unprecedented and exciting Croatian Gold Medal match in a tennis final.

To reach the grand final, Mektić and Pavić had to beat Brazilians Demoliner and Merlo in a close match (7-6, 6-4) in the first round. They then beat the Italians Musetti and Sonego in the second round, also in a difficult match (7-5, 6-7, 10-7). This earned them qualification for the quarterfinals, where they beat the locals McLachlan and Nishikori (6-3, 6-3). At this point, the dream of the Olympic medal was already approaching, with the Croatian tennis players in the semifinals. Today they beat Americans Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren 6-4 in both sets, in a match that lasted 1 hour and 21 minutes.

Mektić and Pavić, the best tennis pair of today, have 51 victories and only five defeats this year. They both arrived in Tokyo as the recent champions of the Wimbledon doubles tournament this month.

Croatian sport reaches a historic moment with the first tennis doubles final between Croatian players, something that, although it is not the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, happened only in 1904 between American players and for the last time four years later, in 1908 between British players. So it has been 113 years since this incredible gold medal match feat was not attested.

It's an all-#CRO men's doubles gold medal match ?

No.1 seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic join their compatriots Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig in the men's doubles final where one team will become the first-ever Croatian Olympic gold medallists in #tennis#Tokyo2020 | #Olympics

— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 29, 2021

The game is scheduled for tomorrow, and although the exact time is not yet confirmed, it is believed that it will be played around 8, after the bronze match between New Zealanders and Americans.

It is true that, although four Croatian tennis players will compete for first place, only two of them will be able to win the long-awaited gold medal. However, it can be said from now on that, regardless of the result, it is a historic moment and a great joy for Croatian tennis and sport in general. Congratulations to Mate Pavić, Marin Cilić, Nikola Mektić, and Ivan Dodig for the success!

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