Banja Luka will host the Ju-Jitsu World Cup in the Duo System and Duo Show disciplines, as well as the 21st Balkan Open Ju-Jitsu Championship, from September 10 to 13.
More than 1,200 competitors from 24 countries are expected to take part at Borik Sports Hall. The event is organized by the Ju-Jitsu Federation of Republika Srpska.
Danijel Blažić, secretary general of the Ju-Jitsu Federation of Republika Srpska, said this year’s competition will carry particular significance because the World Cup has been granted the status of a ranking tournament by the international federation, with competitors earning ranking points for the World Games in Germany.
“A total of 982 competitors have registered for the Balkan Open, while 111 pairs will compete in the Duo System at the World Cup. That means more than 1,200 competitors will visit Banja Luka. In addition, the world’s leading referees are coming, and the presidents of both the European and World Ju-Jitsu federations have confirmed their attendance. During these days, Banja Luka will be the center of ju-jitsu not only in the region, but also in Europe,” Blažić said.
He added that the goal is to give as many high-quality competitors as possible an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.
“We have the core of a national team that wins medals at European and world championships, but we also have a large number of potential medal winners. I expect our team to finish among the top three. The competition will be extremely strong, with Greece bringing more than 100 competitors, Romania around 140, Montenegro around 130, and Bulgaria around 80. There will be seven or eight very strong national teams with more than 100 members each,” Blažić said.
Nebojša Babić, president of the Ju-Jitsu Federation of Republika Srpska, said the opportunity to organize the World Cup came unexpectedly, but the federation needed only minutes to decide to accept the major challenge.
“We did not even know about the World Cup until two months ago. We were informed that, due to problems in Turkey, it could not be held in Istanbul, and we were asked to take over the organization. Danijel and I consulted with the Federation’s Management Board and, in practically ten minutes, decided to accept the challenge,” Babić said.
The official opening ceremony is scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m.
Visa issues
The visa regime presented an additional challenge for the organizers, preventing some national teams from traveling to Banja Luka.
“We regret that we were unable to enable certain national teams to attend, not because of us, but because of the BiH visa system. I am primarily referring to Turkmenistan, which finished third at last year’s Balkan Open and planned to come with around 50 competitors. I thank the relevant ministries of sport, security, civil affairs, and foreign affairs for their assistance, but technically it simply could not be arranged,” Babić said.
Source: Glas Srpske
