Golden volleyball players received by the Sarajevo Canton: The hardest part is defending an already won title

Nine-time consecutive European champions - the Bosnia and Herzegovina national sitting volleyball team were received by the President of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly Sejo Bukva, Prime Minister Elmedin Konaković and Minister of Culture and Sports Samer Rešidat, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

Sabahudin Delalić, Dževad Hamzić, Asim Medić, Safet Alibašić, Beniz Kadrić, Ermin Jusufović, Muhamed Kapetanović, Nizam Čančar, Ismet Godinjak, Adnan Manko, Mirzet Duran and Adnan Kešmer are the golden boys of our most trophy-winning national team, which has as many as 19 medals from major competitions.

- Winning gold at the European Championship is a fantastic success and is certainly proof of the sporting skill and strength of your team - said President Bukva, who announced that he will do everything so that the boys who play on the national team do not have to take days off to go to the championship.

According to his words, it is absurd, because they are all people who have jobs in certain companies, and in order to go and defend the colors of their country, they must have permission to be absent from work.

- You have once again proven that with very limited resources you have achieved great results and set the highest standards for top-level sports and athletes in general, because they know best how difficult it is to defend won titles - emphasized Prime Minister Konaković and said that the Canton will continue to support everything these young men do.

Minister Rešidat said that our golden national team representatives won the ninth consecutive European champion title in a superior manner, without losing a single set, thus saving face and justifying every penny that the relevant ministry and the Sarajevo Canton invested in them.

Coach Mirza Hrustemović reminded all present that at the last European Championship in the final match in Warendorf, Germany, they defeated the host national team in a fantastic way with 3:0 in sets, thus confirming that they are the absolute rulers of the Old Continent.

- I think we have spoiled our public, but that is the result of the fact that we are really strong and organized. This is a very demanding sport. Although we are experienced, we had the youngest player of the European Championship, 21-year-old Armin Šehić, so we can say that we are regularly rejuvenating the national team, and I am sure that we can have successes in the next fifteen years as well - said Miralem Zubović, president of the BiH Sitting Volleyball Association.

Team captain Sabahudin Delalić pointed out that the national team members, the expert team and the association have long considered the Sarajevo Canton as their general sponsor, and announced that they are already preparing for the Paralympics, which will be held next year.

- We have done our part of the job, now we expect, primarily for the sake of these younger players who have joined the national team, that the state will reward them adequately, so that we can continue our successes - said Delalić.