Serbia finally overcame their neighbours Montenegro in an IHF Women’s World Championship to send their opponents out of Spain 2021 and keep themselves in touch with a possible 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship quarter-final spot of their own.

Their come-from-behind, 27:25 win against Bojana Popovic’s side had seen them come back from 14:18 down at half-time and followed a 28:28 draw at Denmark 2015 and losses at Germany 2017 (29:31) and Japan 2019 (26:28).

“It’s a really historic win for us,” said Serbia captain Jovana Stoiljkovic, who scored three against the Montenegrins in 2015 and six in 2019. “I'm really proud of my team and my girls. It was a really, really tough match with a lot of mental pressure – I hope we will continue to fight every match until the end of this competition.”

Stoiljkovic has made well over 100 appearances for her national side – the most in the Serbian squad of 18 at Spain 2021 – and her seven goals in a full 60 minutes played against Montenegro were crucial in a game which went right down to the last few seconds, with Serbia taking that eventual two-goal victory.

The game had come off the back of a 10-goal loss against RHF (22:32) with Serbia’s captain saying the turnaround was down to a classic fighting spirit.

“From the first moment until the end we believe in our team, we don't stop fighting and this is the result of our fight: we won,” she explained. “But against Russia, it was a special match where we lost by 10 goals, but we don't deserve this. Since then, we travelled a lot, we had training and we were so tired, but mentally, we were prepared [against Montenegro], even though it was physically really hard for us, we succeeded.”

Not only was she part of a side which finally beat Montenegro in a Women’s World Championship, but she led her side out onto court in her role as captain, a role she says is a honour for her to have.

“I feel proud to be captain because I really believe in this team,” said the left back, who has scored 19 goals in four appearances at Spain 2021, complete with 12 assists. “I believe that they will fight from the first second until the end. I know that in this one hour, for 60 minutes, they will really fight.

“We now have a new team and as the most experienced player I try to give them advice, to lead them and to be there for them if they need something. I don't know what they will say [about me], but really, I try to do my best to help them as much as possible.”

With team spirit evidenced on court, off court it is clear too, with the Serbian Handball Federation highlighting the togetherness of the squad – and the love of their country – through messages on their footwear. 

“This shows the atmosphere we have in our team,” said the captain. “You can see that we really have a good atmosphere, we are really close to each other and we really enjoy this competition. It also shows just how much we like to play for our country and to fight for Serbia.

“I don’t have,” adds a smiling Stoiljkovic when asked by ihf.info if she has joined the group of those writing on the tape on their shoes. “I already had before, it was messages like ‘I love Serbia’, ‘I love my people’, ‘I love to play and to fight for my country.’”

Another big match day for Stoiljkovic is on the horizon as her side takes on Olympic champions France on Saturday (11 December), an extra special match for the captain, who plays her club handball for Chambray Touraine HB in the country.

“France is really something,” she said about Olivier Krumbholz’s side. “They really have a lot of quality and as I said we have really a new team with young players who are playing for the first time in this competition and France has a few too. 

“We will try to do our best against them and we will find the solution of how to play against them.”

And her message to Serbia fans back home and around the world following her team at Spain 2021?

“We will continue to fight for our country, for our flag and for our people and to always do our best.”

Team photo: RFEBM / J. Navarro