25.01.2024
Minister Vučević attends ceremony marking Military Sports Day
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević attended a ceremony marking the Military Sports Day at the Central Military Club in Belgrade today.
Minister Vučević greeted those present, including the representatives of Serbian social and sports institutions and congratulated them on the Military Sports Day, emphasizing that sports were an inseparable part of the military and that the military would be unimaginable without sports.
- It is not just a question of our individual accomplishments, which are very important, nor is it just a question of the number of medals won and good results achieved, which are also important. This way, you are creating opportunities for socialization, strengthening chivalrous, collective, team spirit, in sports terms – you are promoting the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, true values, good and successful people. What you have been doing is important, it is necessary and we need to see what we should do next so that we do not repeat ourselves year in, year out, so that we improve the potentials of the Ministry of Defence, primarily the Defence University and the Military Academy, and the people who run this important institution of the Ministry of Defence, who are sometimes unjustly neglected – Minister Vučević emphasized.
According to him, the Defence University and the Military Academy are the seedbed of the people who will continue to lead and protect the country in the future, and organizational solutions should be found to better integrate sport to the extent it deserves in barracks, garrisons and units.
- Especially bearing in mind, I have no problem saying this, because I firmly believe that the suspension of mandatory military service should be abolished, because if we restore military service, one part of training will involve sports and we will need the help of all of you who are involved in this process. I believe that we will be prepared for those challenges and tasks - said the Minister of Defence.
Minister Vučević also referred to our ancestors who had achieved great results, left us a great legacy and obliged us.
- It is not just a question of matching up with their successes, but a question of being even better in order to leave a better legacy to future generations, because we are primarily responsible to them, to the ones who will come after us, and who will, I believe, I hope, be better than us in everything, including military sports - said the Minister of Defence. He wished the President of the Olympic Committee a successful year and expressed his hope that the series of victories would continue with the support of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces. He also expressed hope that the athletes’ motivating force, sportsmanship and chivalrous spirit would strengthen, and wished them a series of new victories.
According to the Head of the Delegation of the Republic of Serbia to the International Military Sports Council(CISM), Lieutenant Colonel Asst. Prof. Negovan Ivanković, this is the first time we are celebrating the Military Sports Day, which has been established to honour our glorious military history that is imbued with sports.
- It is an undeniable fact that the military has had a very important role in the emergence and development of sports in Serbia. Continuing the work of our glorious predecessors, all of us who deal with sports in the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces strive to be worthy heirs to such a rich legacy. The reputation of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces on the domestic and international sports scenes has significantly improved owing to notable successes, participation in and organisation of numerous high-level domestic and international events. I would especially like to emphasize the activities of the Delegation of the Republic of Serbia to the International Military Sports Council - CISM, as the driving force within the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces when it comes to sports - said Lieutenant Colonel Ivanković.
At today's ceremony marking the Military Sports Day, Minister Vučević, accompanied by the President of the Olympic Committee of Serbia, Božidar Maljković, and Lieutenant Colonel Negovan Ivanković, presented awards to the most successful athletes and sports teams of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces in 2023.
The 2023 Sportsman of the Year Award went to Sergeant Đuro Borbelj from the Military Academy’s Sports Unit for outstanding results achieved by participating in numerous races, while the Best Sports Team Award went to the members of the "Nebeske Foke" paratrooper team.
The award for outstanding contribution to the strengthening of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces’ reputation through outstanding sports achievements in 2023 was given to Sergeant 1st Class Ivan Jeremić from the 72nd Special Operations Brigade for the medals he has won in the marathon, half marathon and numerous races. Among the award winners is Captain 1st Class Nevena Jovanović from the Special Purpose Military Police Detachment "Kobre".
Awards were also presented to the members of the Military Academy’s Sports Unit, judoka Aleksandar Kukolj and Dimitrije Grgić, for his success in shooting.
An award was also given to Luka Milošević, a student of the Secondary Vocational Military School "1300 Corporals" and a member of the national shooting team, who was declared the best Serbian junior shooter in 2023. The military pentathlon team from the Military Academy, "Nemanjića Orlovi", was also awarded for winning numerous cups and medals. The Most Successful Young Athlete of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces Award for 2023 was presented to Nina Dragojlović, a student of the Military Grammar School’s 49th class.
At today's ceremony a film was shown about the sports achievements of the members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces in 2023, and the Mixed Choir and Orchestra of the MOD’s Artistic Ensemble "Stanislav Binički" performed.
The Military Sports Day is celebrated in memory of the day when Lieutenant Aleksandar Josifović, an officer of the Army of the Kingdom of Serbia, took first place at a big International Officer Fencing Tournament in 1907 in the Netherlands, which marked the centenary of the development of physical culture in that country.
