Serbia: Another shot at coveted Olympic gold

Reigning world and European champions Serbia are back in action this month, as they plunge into the Tokyo Olympics with one thing in mind: Clinch the coveted Olympic gold medal that was within their reach last time around, but was grabbed out of ther hands by China after the epic final at the Maracanazinho in Rio 2016.

Serbia have only been at the Olympics three times before, knocked out by Cuba in the (always decisive) quarterfinals of Beijing 2008, finishing a mere 11th in their disastrous London 2012 campaign, but climbing to unprecedented heights for silver in Rio 2016.

The Tokyo Olympics will mark the fourth time that Zoran Terzic has coached the team in the ultimate sporting event of the planet.

Like Italy, Serbia chose to keep their Olympic team away from the gruelling month-long Volleyball Nations League and instead focused on a dedicated training and preparation programme for the Tokyo Olympics.

Whether the gamble will pay off only time will tell - but the strategy has proven effective in the past, when Serbia stayed away from the VNL finals in 2018 and then went on to win the World Championship later that year.

We've not seen the Serbian National Team in action for at least a year and a half, due to the pandemic, so it's hard to judge in what condition their stars are ahead of the Olympics.

But the Balkan team will be heading to Tokyo after three friendlies against Italy, last week in Ub and Belgrade. Serbia won all three in five sets.

They weren't exactly convincing, but they certainly seemed on the right track to get things right in the two weeks remaining until the games.

Serbia would like to place in a position after pool play (against the Dominican Republic, Japan, Kenya, Brazil and Korea) where they can avoid meeting up with China in the quarterfinals and no one can reallistically see them failing to make the last eight.

So they also have an extra ten days to get in top form at exactly when it actually matters.

Tijana Boskovic seemed on track in the friendlies and Serbia relied on her to keep the points rolling in - exactly what will be requested of her at Tokyo - but Brankica Mihajlovic was not quite as convincing. Serbia may need to vary their distribution of play a little more, come the Games - if only to keep the opposition on their toes.

Once Milena Rasic joined the friendlies (after having sat out the first due to a minor injury), Serbia also seemed solid in the middle, which traditionally is Serbia's strong point.

Watch what opposite and top scorer Tijana Boskovic, captain and setter Maja Ognjenovic and head coach Zoran Terzic have to say about Serbia at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

If they can pick up the momentum from the Rio 2016 Olympics, the 2018 World Championship and EuroVolley 2019, Serbia will certainly be again a force to be reckoned with and a contender for a medal at Tokyo 2020.

Full Olympic roster for Serbia, under head coach Zoran Terzic:

● Setters:
Maja Ognjenovic, Sladjana Mirkovic

● Opposites:
Tijana Boskovic, Ana Bjelica

● Outside hitters:
Brankica Mihajlovic, Bianka Busa, Bojana Milenkovic, Jelena Blagojevic

● Middle blockers:
Milena Rasic, Maja Aleksic, Mina Popovic

● Libero:
Silvija Popovic