“Beating an Olympic medallist and then not winning a medal at the same competition hurts, but Novo’s performances are encouraging ahead of the challenges to come. Aleksandar gave everything he had in his opening match, but sometimes you come up against an opponent whose style simply does not suit you, either physically or tactically,” said Dragan Šćepanović, coach of the Montenegro judo team.
Montenegro’s judokas have completed their appearances at the Mediterranean Games. Novo Raičević, competing in the under-90kg category, was stopped in the bronze medal bout by Spain’s Daniel Nieto Trinidad.
Raičević recorded an important victory over Theodoros Tselidis, bronze medallist at the Paris Olympic Games. He also defeated Algeria’s Oussama Kabri, while he was beaten by Türkiye’s Emir Selim Ari in his opening bout.
“We prepared for the bout against the Greek, and Novo defeated him with a throw with seven seconds remaining. I can count on one hand the athletes who, at least over the past 20 or so years, have defeated an Olympic medallist. Unfortunately, in the medal bout, there was a momentary lapse in concentration, something that happens even to the best fighters,” Šćepanović said.
Commenting on the performance of Montenegro’s other competitor, Aleksandar Tomić, Šćepanović said:
“We expect great things from Aleksandar. Perhaps he paid a little for his lack of experience.”
PHOTO and VIDEO gallery – Team MNE @ Taranto 2026 – https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD2GR8