Igor Kuzmanović, a member of the rafting team of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the master category, believes that this year’s World Cup is a great opportunity for at least one of the four domestic teams to win a medal.
– Two teams from the rafting club Dajak will compete in this competition, ours and the one in the open category. The women’s team is composed of members of the rafting club Kanjon, and there is another team from Zenica. According to that, we are among the most numerous participating countries and we have never had so many teams at one World Cup – said Kuzmanović.
He also commented on the competition in the master category.
– There are certainly 4, 5 top crews, but we are on our rivers and we should not be afraid of anyone. So far, we have participated in numerous competitions, provided very high quality editions, but we were not lucky enough to win a medal. This is a great chance now and it will be a real disaster if we do not win any medals. We have the advantage of competing on home turf, we know the rivers well and we simply have to give our best when the competition starts – Kuzmanović continued.
He also talked about the team with which he will compete.
– The three of us have been together for a long time and now we have one new member. We have been together for practically three months now, we are training hard and, so to speak, we are “shooting from strength”. And the fact that we often know how to quarrel at training speaks best of how much we want to get a medal, but all that is part of the preparations and the great pressure we feel before this competition – said Kuzmanović.
He said they are equally good in all disciplines.
– We may be a bit worse in slalom, but we are also competitive for a high ranking. Everything will depend on how the competition will start, but also on the placements we achieve on the first day – Kuzmanović pointed out.
The team also trained for a few days on the river Tara.
– We could have gone to Tara even earlier, but that wouldn’t be the same as the river from a month ago and now aren’t the same, neither in terms of water level nor by some other parameters. We trained there for two days, the trail is very demanding and the water is very difficult. However, I expect that everything will be in the best order and that we will finally win a medal at the World Championship – Kuzmanović added.