Serbian Team has won nine gold, five silver and eleven bronze medals on the 3rd Serbian Youth International in Novi Sad from June 19 to 21. The tournament has gathered nearly 170 competitors from 16 countries representing the European, Asian and African continent.

The City of Novi Sad and Republic of Serbia hosted another spectacular international tournament organized by Badminton Association of Serbia, under the patronage of Serbian Ministry of Youth and Sport, City of Novi Sad, Novi Sad City Museum and Tourist organization of Novi Sad. This record breaking event lasted from June 19 to 21, 2015, has gathered nearly 170 competitors from 16 countries representing European, Asian and African continent and surpassed all expectations. Perfect organization, high quality junior matches full of suspense and beautiful ambient inside Sports Center ‘’Slana Bara’’ has been crowned with brilliant performances of Serbian badminton progeny. In very tough competition among U9, U11, U13, U15 and U17 age groups Serbia won a total of 25 medals – nine gold, five silver and eleven bronze medals and has been awarded with epithet of the most successful national team which competed on Third Edition of Serbian Badminton Open. Tournament was officially promoted by Dragoslav Petrovic – representative of Serbian badminton on Youth Olympic Games and winner of 11 medals on World and European Circuit tournaments. This Event found its place in the Official BEC Calendar of events which represent the best indicators of its importance and competitive potential.

Preceded by initial matches within groups, the Opening Ceremony was attended by numerous representatives of sponsors, friends and members of Badminton Association of Serbia. Nearly 170 competitors from Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Austria, Cyprus, Georgia, Hungary, Algeria, Greece, Croatia, Pakistan, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Romania and off course Serbia marched under the vaults of ‘’Slana Bara’’ and were welcomed with stentorian applause. After the warm welcome, the event was officially opened by Radomir Jovovic, President of the Executive Board of Badminton Association of Serbia. All participants left the Competition Venue under impressions at the end of the first session impatiently waiting for the next session to start on Saturday. 

Saturday’s matches on ‘’Slana Bara’’ courts were heating up. All participants, from youngest to oldest, performed their best and represented this Olympic sport in the best possible manner. Huge aspirations to qualify for the places in the semifinals additionally motivated the players. Saturday night revealed the names of the best competitors who qualified for the final day of the tournament. Sunday was reserved for final matches and battles for medals in all events. Elimination matches riddled the best competitors and guaranteed the most exciting of all tournament days in Novi Sad. A lot of interesting matches, upsets, extraordinary moves and tricks were shown in the courts. Tournament focus was centered on Marija Sudimac who once again showed that she is truly a hidden gem in terms of badminton skill and knowledge. She won four gold medals. She easily won U13 Girls Singles and U13 Girls Doubles with her teammate Sara Loncar, and also U15 Girls Singles and U15 Girls Doubles with Anja Velemir as her partner.

’’I am very satisfied with my performances on this hard and intense international tournament in Novi Sad. Last year I lost both final matches but this year I triumphed in all four. I was extremely  prepared for this tournament, I was working very hard and success could not be avoided. Participating and playing at intense senior tournaments in Serbia helped me a lot because I gained necessary experience and increased my confidence. Ambient inside the sports hall was beautiful during the tournament, I was supported by every member of the Serbian Team and audience also. It is an honor for me to be a part of this great badminton event’’, Marija Sudimac stated after the Medal Ceremony. 

Victor Petrovic became Champion in U11 Boys Singles, while Sergej Lukic was the best in U13 events. Besides winning the gold in Boys Singles, he also won the Boys Doubles with Matija Cupara, who was second, right beside Sergej in Boys Singles. Serbian Team displayed total domination in U17 events. All medals in Boys Singles and three medals in Boys Doubles were won by players from Serbia. Current U15 Runners Up, Luka Milic, repeated his success from last year’s Serbian Youth International 2014. He clinched two titles in Singles and Doubles. In Singles finals he defeated Mateja Manic, and with Nenad Milosevic, who won bronze medal in Singles, he managed to win in Boys Doubles by eventually defeating Andrija Doder and Mateja Manic. Besides Serbia, medals were presented to competitors from eleven other countries – Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Algeria, Georgia and Pakistan.

The Serbian Youth International 2015 ended after three unforgettable days in Novi Sad with a total of 456 matches. During the Closing Ceremony, Dr Mirko Kantar, Head of Sport Development Programs Department within Ministry of Youth and Sports in charge of support and monitoring of development programs realization, officially addressed the participants of this prestigious competition. He congratulated the organizers mentioning that Ministry of Youth and Sports recognizes and provides full support to Badminton Association of Serbia in yet another display of exceptional results in competitive and organizational field.   

Organization of this very important international competition was also supported by Olympic Committee of Serbia, Sport Association of Serbia, University Sports Federation of Serbia, Serbian Institute of Sport and Sports Medicine, Anti-Doping Agency of Serbia, ''Tin Sped'' Company, ''Lasta'' Transport Company, ''Zlatiborac'', ''Yonex'' and ''Nasa Koka Plus''. It is important to mention that Serbian Youth International was the first event to include Badminton Association of Serbia in ''Humanitarian Cap'' project which was started and developed by ''PARAKVAD VS'' Association. During the course of the tournament participants were collecting plastic bottle caps of all coloures and sizes and by doing that helped in providing neccesary financial support needed to obtain orthopedic apparatus for disabled individuals. 

   

Medal winners – Boys Singles U9: 1. Sebastian Pinkovicz (Poland), 2. Andrej Suchy (Slovakia), 3. David Velickovic (Serbia), Vlad Dehelean (Romania); Girls Singles U9: 1. Petra Harth (Hungary), 2. Kaloqna Nalbantova (Bulgaria), 3 Katarina Vig (Serbia); Boys Singles U11: Viktor Petrovic (Serbia), 2. Aleksandar Jovicic (Serbia), 3. Simeon Suchy (Slovakia), Stanimir Terziev (Bulgaria); Girls Singles U11: 1. Mihaela Chepisheva (Bulgaria), 2. Rafailia Mertzemeki (Greece), 3. Elli Koronidou (Greece), Petra Harth (Hungary); Boys Doubles U11: 1. Georgi Manchev / Stanimir Terziev (Bulgaria), 2. Kevin Lin Lenarcic / Jaka Marovt Peric (Slovenia), 3. Ivan Grubic (Croatia) / Theodoros Papadopoulos (Greece), Nikolai Davchev / Svetoslav Raev (Bulgaria); Girls Doubles U11: 1. Elli Koronidou / Rafailia Mertzemeki (Greece), 2. Mihaela Chepisheva / Eleonora Ivanova (Bulgaria); 3. Petra Harth / Gyongyver Rado (Hungary), Kosara Andreeva / Nina Nikolova (Bulgaria); Boys Singles U13: 1. Sergej Lukic (Serbia), 2. Matija Cupara (Serbia), 3. Andrej Antoska (Slovakia), Mihajlo Tomic (Serbia); Girls Singles U13: 1. Marija Sudimac (Serbia), 2. Barbara Janicic (Croatia), 3. Sara Loncar (Serbia), Tanya Ivanova (Bulgaria); Boys Doubles U13: 1. Matija Cupara / Sergej Lukic (Serbia), 2. Mohamed Amine Kessari / Sifeddine Larbaoui (Algeria), 3. Lazar Josijevic / Mihajlo Tomic (Serbia), Paul Harangus (Romania) / Evgeni Panev (Bulgaria); Girls Doubles U13: Sara Loncar / Marija Sudimac (Serbia), 2. Tanya Ivanova / Jeni Jeleva (Bulgaria), 3. Teona Batiashvili / Maria Khachaturyan (Georgia), Barbara Janicic / Andrea Vlasic (Croatia); Boys Singles U15: 1. Tomas Timko (Slovakia), 2. Erik Zurlavlov (Slovakia), 3. Ali Danyaal Syed (Pakistan), Sergej Lukic (Serbia); Girls Singles U15: 1. Marija Sudimac (Serbia), 2. Inga Sadaic (Croatia), 3. Mia Cerjan (Croatia), Anja Velemir (Serbia); Boys Doubles U15: 1. Cvetomir Stoyanov / Yavor Yankov (Bulgaria), 2. Robert Sabovcik / Erik Zurlavlov (Slovakia), 3. Andrej Antoska / Tomas Timko (Slovakia), Janko Lazarevic / Sergej Lukic (Serbia); Girls Doubles U15: 1. Marija Sudimac / Anja Velemir (Serbia), 2. Mia Cerjan / Inga Sadaic (Croatia), 3. Alzbeta Perunska / Lucia Vojtekova (Slovakia), Selin Bakalova / Tanya Petkova (Bulgaria); Boys Singles U17: 1. Luka Milic (Serbia), 2. Mateja Manic (Serbia), 3. Andrija Doder (Serbia), Nenad Milosevic (Serbia); Girls Singles U17: 1. Polivia Tzika (Greece), 2. Andrijana Stankovic (Serbia), 3. Zoi Aleli (Greece), Anja Velemir (Serbia); Boys Doubles U17: 1. Luka Milic / Nenad Milosevic (Serbia), 2. Andrija Doder / Mateja Manic (Serbia), 3. Aleksa Lutovac (Serbia) / Marin Sucur (Croatia), Martin Petkov / Tihomir Petkov (Bulgaria); Girls Doubles U15: Ioanna Karapetridou / Polivia Tzika (Greece), 2. Halla Bouksani / Linda Mazri (Algeria), 3. Aleksandra Harangus (Romania) / Inga Sadaic (Croatia), Julia Janockova / Rebeka Malecka (Slovakia).