Individual sports
Archery
The Archery Association is an organization that takes care of the development of archery in Serbia and has 17 members.It was founded in 1955,and has been a member of the International Archery Federation since 1965. The biggest success in the last years is the placement of Luka Grozdanović in the quarterfinals of the Mediterranean Games in 2013.
Athletics
After folk games, athletics in the modern sense appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. Among the first events on the territory of Serbia was the race held in 1906 on the route Valjevo-Jovanje, and in 1908 the Gymnastics Association "Dusan Silni" founded the first athletic section. The founding of the Serbian Olympic Club in 1910 and the beginning of Serbia's participation in the Olympic Games were important for the further development of athletics.
The European Open Championship was organized in Belgrade in 1962, the European Indoor Games in 1966, and the European Club Championship for men in 1989. When it comes to the 21st century, the largest organized competition on the territory of Serbia is the European Indoor Championship in 2017. From the athletic competitions, the Belgrade Marathon and the memorial rally in honor of Artur Takač are held every year.
The successes of athletes from Serbia includes:
- Vera Nikolić - two-time European champion in the 800 meter race (1966, 1971), and world record holder with a time of 2: 00.5 (1968—1971)
- Nenad Stekić - two-time vice-champion of the Old Continent (1974, 1978), former European record holder in long jump (8.45), three years the best result in the world (1975, 1977 and 1978)
- Milos Srejovic - European triple jump champion in 1978.
- Vladimir Milić - European champion in throwing the ball in the hall in 1982.
- Dragan Zdravković - European champion in the 3000 meter indoor race in 1983.
- Snezana Pajkic - European champion in the 1500 meter race in 1990.
- Dragutin Topic - European champion in high jump 1990, European indoor champion 1996, bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in 1997 and the European Indoor Championships in 1992 and 2000, (personal record 2.37 meters, among the 10 best of all time)
- Slobodan Brankovic - European indoor champion in the 400 meter race in 1992.
- Dragan Perić - bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in 1995 and silver at the European Indoor Championships in 1994 in shot put
- Olivera Jevtić - the first athletic medal for Serbia since independence, a silver medal in the marathon at the 2006 European Championships, four bronze medals at the European Cross Country Championships.
- Asmir Kolašinac - gold medal in throwing the ball at the European Indoor Championships in 2013, silver in 2015 and bronze from the European Championships in 2012.
- Ivana Španović - in the long jump discipline, among the most significant successes are bronze from the 2016 Olympic Games, the title of world champion in the hall 2018, two world bronze medals in the open (2013, 2015), four European champion titles - one in the open ( 2016) and three in the hall (2015, 2017, 2019).
Badminton
The Badminton Association of Serbia is an organization that manages badminton in Serbia. Like clubs, it was founded in 1993. The first competition that was organized was the First Open Open Championship of Yugoslavia in badminton, held in 1994 in Belgrade. Serbia made its debut at the European Championship in 2012 with six representatives, in men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles.
Bowling
The national team of Serbia were two-time world champions in bowling in 9 cones and broke the team world record. Vilmos Zavarko is the world record holder in individual competition, and he won four gold, three silver and two bronze medals at the world championships, as well as the first place on the world ranking list.
Chess
There are 46[when?] grandmasters (active and inactive) among Serbian chess players. At the Chess Olympics in 1950, the Yugoslavia national team won a gold medal, and among the Serbian chess players in the national team were Petar Trifunović and Svetozar Gligorić, who won medals at other Olympics, as well as at European championships. Among the most successful Serbian grandmasters are Aleksandar Matanović, Milan Matulović, Ivan Ivanišević, Dragan Šolak, Aleksandar Kovačević, Branko Damljanović, Igor Miladinović ...
There are 11 grandmasters among the female competitors.The most successful Serbian chess player is the former Minister of Sports and Youth, Alisa Marić, who won two bronze medals at the Chess Olympics, as well as a silver medal at the European Championship in 1999. Novi Sad hosted the Olympics in 1990, as well as the European Team Championship in 2009. In 1970, a match was held in Belgrade for the first time between the Soviet Union and the rest of the world.
Cycling
Djordje Nesic participated in international bicycle races in Europe as a student. On his initiative, the First Serbian Bicycle Association was founded in 1884, and he was elected president.The first competition race was held in Belgrade in 1896, and the following year the first national championship was held.
Darts
The Darts Federation of Serbia (PFS) is an Association of Darts Clubs that deals with the popularization and organization of competitions in STEEL or classic darts. Registered in the Ministry of Sports in May 2009 and the founders of the then three registered clubs are: PK Pik As from Apatin, PK Gerila from Novi Sad and PK Black Code from N.Sad, in the meantime they are joined by two more clubs (PK Kapitalci from Belgrade and PK SNG Vukovi from N.Sad). After determining the basic goals, the realization of joining the World Darts Federation (WDF) started immediately, and after the positive signalization in September 2009, Serbia became a member of the WDF (conditionally) from 01.01.2010. and full-fledged on October 27, 2010, and shortly before that, more precisely on October 5, 2010, PFS was recognized as the umbrella organization for darts in Serbia by the Sports Federation of Serbia. In the 2013/14 season, PFS gathers 16 registered darts clubs and over 200 players who took part in competitions.
Diving
The Diving Association of Serbia is an organization that takes care of the development of diving on the territory of Serbia. It was founded in 1971 when it separated from the swimming association. There were a maximum of 13 clubs in the association. There are six members in the alliance, all from Belgrade. The greatest success of a Serbian competitor at the international level is the silver medal of Selena Trajković, under the flag of Yugoslavia, from the Mediterranean Games in 1979 in Split in the platform discipline. Belgrade hosted the first World Diving Championship in 1973.
Equestrian sport
The Association for Equestrian Sports of Serbia is an organization that manages equestrian sports in Serbia and organizes the state championship. It was founded in 2001. For many years, since 1964, on the first weekend of September, the Ljubičevo Equestrian Games have been held in Požarevac.
Fencing
After the First World War, the Yugoslav Fencing Federation was founded with its headquarters in Belgrade, and later in Zagreb. The first individual state championship was held in 1928, and the club championship in 1939. During the Second World War, the Federation ceased to operate. In 1949, the work of the Alliance was renewed and it was renamed the Fencing Alliance of Yugoslavia. The main organization in charge of fencing in Serbia is the Fencing Association of Serbia. The most successful Serbian swordswoman is Tamara Savić-Šotra, a triple participant in the Olympic Games under the flag of FR Yugoslavia. The greatest success of the Serbian leadership since the independence of Serbia in 2006 is the bronze medal at the Mediterranean Games in Mersin in 2013, which was won by Smiljka Rodić.
Golf
The first golf club in Serbia was founded in 1936, on Kosutnjak, due to the initiative of Prince Pavle Karadjordjevic. The development of this elite sport in Serbia was stopped by the Second World War. Only after seventy years, two golf courses were built. The only places where golfers can train and compete in Serbia are the Golf Club "Belgrade", on Ada Ciganlija, and the Club "Center", Zabalj near Zrenjanin. In 2002, the Golf Club Belgrade was founded.
Gymnastics
Gymnastics appeared among Serbs in the middle of the nineteenth century. The director of the Serbian Great Orthodox Gymnasium in Novi Sad, Djordje Natosevic, introduced classes and descriptive assessment. Stevan Todorović founded the First Serbian Society for Gymnastics and Wrestling in 1857.
Tereza Kočiš is a Serbian gymnast, who won a silver medal on the ground floor at the 1950 World Championships, and won silver medals on the beam and two-height loom at the European Championships in 1963, as well as a bronze medal on the ground floor. At the same championship, Mirjana Bilić became the European champion in all-around and on the floor, and she also won bronze on the beam. As for rhythmic gymnastics, Milena Reljin took 5th place at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and Danijela Simić 10. Belgrade hosted the European Men's Championship in 1963.
Karate
The most successful competitor in karate is Snezana Peric, who won gold medals at the World Games, World and European Championships, as well as bronze at the World Championships and five more medals at the European Championships. Slobodan Bitević was the world champion, and won silver and bronze medals at the European championships. The European Championship was held in Belgrade in 1998, as well as the World Championship in 2010.
Kayak and canoe
The Kayak Federation of Yugoslavia was formed in 1930, and the Federation of Serbia in 1953.Four world and one European championships were held in Belgrade. The best results in kayaking and canoeing were achieved at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, when Mirko Nišović won a gold medal in the double canoe at 500 (S-2) and a silver at 1000, and Milan Janić won silver in the single kayak. 2) at 1000 m. They were both three-time world champions and won more medals.
Milan Janić children are also kayakers. Mico and Stjepan won a silver medal in the 1000 m at the 1998 World Championships. Later, they changed their citizenship, Mićo and Stjepan joined the Croatian national team, and Nataša competes under the Hungarian flag, for which she won medals.
Ognjen Filipović, Dragan Zorić, Bora Sibinkić and Milan Đenandić were trophy four-seater in a kayak. In the 200 m race, among other things, they won gold at the world and European championships. Filipović won medals in the one-seater, but also in the two-seater with Zorić.
Dusko Stanojevic and Dejan Pajic won bronze at the 2010 World Championships and silver at the European Championships in 2011 in a two-seater kayak in the 500 meters. silver medals. In 2014, Novaković won a gold medal with Nebojsa Grujić at the world championships in the two-seater 200 m, with the fastest time of all time in that discipline. Then they won a silver medal at the European Championships and a gold medal at the European Games.
Antonija Nagy twice won a silver medal at the European championships in the 1000 meter race. The sisters, Nikolina and Olivera Moldovan, won three medals at the world championships, three at the European and one at the European Games.
Dalma Benedek, after being an eight-time world and seven-time European champion, has been competing under the Serbian flag since 2013 and in the same year won gold medals at the European Championships in the 500 and 1,000 meters, and then bronze in the 500 meters at the World Championships. , as well as up to two or two bronze medals at the European Championship and gold at the European Games with Milica Starović.
Motorsports
Milos Pavlovic is a Serbian motorist. He was the champion in Nissan's world light series, and in 2007 he won third place in the Formula Renault series with two victories. He competed in Formula 2 in 2009 and took 9th place, he was on the podium twice. Dušan Borković won the title of champion in the European Mountain Racing Championship in 2012, winning eight of the eleven races.A year earlier, he took third place. As a representative of the NIS Petrol Racing Team in the European Touring Cup car in 2013 took third place in the overall standings, and since 2014 competes in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. The Belgrade Grand Prix was the last Grand Prix motorcycle race, the forerunner of Formula 1, before the start of World War II.
Rowing
The Rowing Federation of Serbia, then Yugoslavia, was founded in 1922. The European Championships were held in Belgrade in 1932 and 2014. Zoran Pančić and Milorad Stanulov are Serbian rowers, who won a silver medal (M2x) for Yugoslavia in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow and a bronze medal in Los Angeles in 1984. The most successful rowers in independent Serbia are Nikola Stojić and Goran Jagar, who were European champions as a duo without a coxswain (M2 -).Nikola Stojić won a gold medal with Jovan Popović at the 2006 World Championships in the doubles with a coxswain (M2 +), while with Jagar, Popović and Marko Marjanović he won silver in the quadruple with a coxswain (M4 +) in 2007. Stojić also won with Nenad Bedjik. in the discipline, the duo without a coxswain won a bronze (2012) and a gold medal (2013) at the European Championships. Besides them, Goran Nedeljković, Miloš Tomić, Nenad Babović, Dušan Bogićević and Veselin Savić won medals at competitions. Iva Obradović won two silver medals at the European Championships.
Sailing
The organization that manages sailing in Serbia is the Sailing Federation of Serbia. Serbian competitors compete at the World and European Championships. Currently, the most successful member of the Serbian national team is Luka Tošić, who won a gold medal at the European Junior Championships in the Laser 4.7 class, as well as a bronze medal at the World Championships in the same class.
Shooting
Shooting is one of the oldest sports in Serbia. The first shooting club was founded in Bela Crkva in 1777, and the Association of Shooting Societies of the Kingdom of Serbia was formed in 1887. The European Championship was held twice in Belgrade, in 2005 and 2011. Jasna Šekarić won a gold medal (10m air pistol discipline) at the 1988 Olympics. At the same Games, she won a bronze medal in the sport pistol discipline. She continued her success in Barcelona in 1992, Sydney in 2000, and Athens in 2004, winning three silver medals in the air pistol disciplines. In addition, she was a three-time world champion and a four-time European champion, and also broke the world record. Goran Maksimović won a gold medal in the air rifle disciplines at the 1988 Olympic Games, and Ivana Maksimović won silver in the small-caliber rifle three positions at the 2012 Olympic Games.
In addition to them, the shooters who won Olympic medals from Serbia are:
- Aleksandra Ivošev (1996 gold in the triple rifle discipline and bronze in the air rifle discipline, bronze with the European Championship)
- Aranka Binder (1992 Bronze in Air Rifle)
- Stevan Pletikosic (1992 bronze in Olympic discipline, world record, two silver medals with world championship)
- Andrija Zlatić (2012 bronze in the 10 m air pistol disciplines, European champion, two silver medals at the World and European Championships)
World records in the triple jump were broken by Vladimir Grozdanović and Mirjana Mašić (European Championship and double championship in air rifles), and in air rifles Srećko Pejović (silver with European Championship) and Ten Sasen-on foot, gold with European Championship. Zorana Arunović became the world champion in 2010 in the air pistol disciplines and won a gold medal at the European Games in 2015, while among the successful shooters are Dušan Efafanić (bronze with the world championship), Nemanja Mirosavljev (bronze with WC, silver and bronze from the European Championship, Damir Mikec (silver at the European Championship, two gold medals at the European Games), Bobana Veličković (two-time European champion), Andreja Arsović (gold at the European Championship and European Games). ..
Squash
The Yugoslav Squash Association was founded in August 2001 in Belgrade. After its founding, JSA became a member of the European as well as the World Squash Federation. The Squash Association of Serbia was also established, as well as the Squash Association of Belgrade. Like any beginning, this one was difficult. SQUASHLAND, the first squash club in Serbia, was opened in Belgrade in 2003. It is located in Pionirski Grad and has two squash courts. The first national championship of Serbia was held in 2004, and immediately after that championship, the first national team was formed. International tournaments were held in Squashland, such as the Serbian Open, the Belgrade Trophy, the Squashland Open. In 2006, after the separation of Montenegro, the name of the Association was changed. From JSA, SAS (Squash Association of Serbia) was formed. That same year, two more clubs were opened, one in Subotica and one in Novi Sad. The first tournament at Glas Court was held in Belgrade.
Swimming
Milorad Čavić won a silver medal in swimming (discipline 100 meters butterfly) at the 2008 Olympic Games, and a gold and a silver medal at the 2009 World Championships. He won ten medals at the European Championships. He broke world and European records several times. Nađa Higl became the world champion in the 200-meter breaststroke in 2009, breaking the European record. Velimir Stjepanović won gold medals in the 200 m and 400 m freestyle at the European Championships in large pools, as well as a bronze medal at the World Championships in 25-meter pools in the 400 m freestyle. Ivan Lenđer, Čaba Silađi, Miroslava Najdanovski and Szebasztián Szabó won medals at the Universiade, the Mediterranean Games, the European Championship in 25-meter pools, and junior championships. The first World Aquatics Championships in water sports was held in Belgrade in 1973.
Synchronized swimming
The Synchronized Swimming Federation was founded in 1992. The beginnings of synchronized swimming in Belgrade date back to 1968. The first school and section of synchronized swimming in Serbia was founded in 1973, at the pool "May 25". The school later grew into the first club in synchronized swimming called "25. May ". Until 1984, it was the only type of organized synchronous swimming in Belgrade and the then SFRY. The first international competition in which a national team participated was the International Rally in Split, in 1980. The national team participated for the first and so far only time in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. The first World Championship in synchronized swimming was held in Belgrade in 1973 as part of the World Championship in water sports.
Table tennis
In table tennis, Serbian athletes are most successful in the doubles game. Ilija Lupulescu won a silver Olympic medal in men's doubles in 1988, and Jasna Fazlić and Gordana Perkučin won a bronze medal in women's doubles. Zoran Kalinic won one world title and 3 European doubles titles. He has 3 more silver medals from the world championships. Aleksandar Karakašević was the European champion in mixed doubles three times, in 2000, 2005 and 2007, all three times in a pair with the Lithuanian Ruta Pakauskiene. He won five more medals at the European Championships, including a bronze medal in the individual competition in 2011. In 2003, Silvija Erdelji won a bronze medal in the individual competition at the European Championships, as well as in doubles with her sister Anamarija Erdelji. In 1981, Novi Sad hosted competitors at the 36th World Table Tennis Championships (SPENS). Belgrade hosted the European Championship in 2007.
Tennis
Recent success of Serbian tennis players has led to a growth in the popularity of tennis in Serbia. Novak Djokovic, holder of all-time record 24 Grand Slam titles, finished in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020 and 2021 as No. 1 in the world. Djokovic has won a record 10 Australian Open singles titles and also has the record for most weeks at number 1 in the ATP rankings.[2] Monica Seles, a former world no. 1, member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, won eight Grand Slam singles titles (while representing FR Yugoslavia). Ana Ivanovic (champion of 2008 French Open) and Jelena Janković were both ranked No. 1 in the WTA rankings. Janković was a Grand Slam champion in mixed doubles (2007 Wimbledon Championships). There were two No. 1 ranked-tennis double players as well: Nenad Zimonjić (three-time men's double and five-time mixed double Grand Slam champion) and Slobodan Živojinović (champion of 1986 US Open). The Serbia men's tennis national team won the 2010 Davis Cup, and 2020 ATP Cup, also two World Team Cup (in 2009 and 2012) while Serbia women's tennis national team reached the final at 2012 Fed Cup.[3]
Triathlon
In Serbia, the triathlon was held unofficially for the first time in 1988 in Kragujevac. The first national championship was organized in Ada Ciganlija in 1993. The most successful triathlete from Serbia is Ognjen Stojanović. He achieved the greatest success at the World Aquathlon Championships in 2012, where he won a bronze medal.
Weight lifting
The organization that manages weightlifting in Serbia is the Weightlifting Federation of Serbia. Medals in this sport have been won at the Mediterranean Games. Currently, the most successful member of the national team is Silvana Vukas, a silver medalist from the World University Championships. Belgrade hosted the European Championship in 1980.
