Andrea Stojadinov skips the Olympic Games

Andrea Stojadinov will skip the Olympic Games. Despite the fact she is qualified she had to make a tough choice not to go to the Olympic Games in Tokyo due to an operation after a dislocated shoulder. Milica Nikolic is qualified for Serbia as well and will eventually go the Tokyo.

Stojadinov missed the European Championships and the World Championships. Stojadinov: "I had an old injury even before the Grand Slam in Tbilisi, but it was not so serious and didn’t have to stop. In the first match against Kristina Bulgakova after two minutes I fell on my shoulder. I lost that match anyway. It was a cold period and I was not well warmed up. I had a lot of pain and the doctor said it would take 3-6 weeks recovery with therapy, but in that time we didn’t understand the injury, I got green light to test my shoulder after that period. I tested with my brother and with my right side morote it was not a problem, but with my left sided ko-uchi gari, I landed on my shoulder even softly but again I felt a lot of pain in my shoulder and my bone was dislocated. I went immediately to the doctor and it was a bad dislocation in a fourth degree. It was up and backwards and it broke my ligaments and had to do a searcher one month ago. I would not only miss the Europeans and the World Championships and the Olympic Games. It was mentally very tough, physical is actually okay."

"I could be healed at the Olympic Games but this is not a competition that you’d go to from an injury and I could perhaps make it but without training. I can’t take that serious."

"The eventual plan of the federation was to wait for the decision after the World Championships. I was ahead but of course the World Championships could have changed it all and I made a simple choice now."

I will now foxus on my comeback at the Grand Prix in Zagreb. I realise that I came far, people even said I could win an Olympic medal, I can do it in the future and I go for achieving my dreams. In one year I made a lot of progress, but I also know I got more greedy in a short time. Now I want medals, not a seventh place, so I spoiled myself." 

If you like to listen to the full interview with Andrea Stojadinov with JudoCrazy, check out here.