{"id":212743,"date":"2026-06-20T13:29:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T11:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=212743"},"modified":"2026-06-20T13:29:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T11:29:57","slug":"dad-working-on-a-cruise-ship-finances-a-serbian-champion-andrija-12-represents-serbia-in-two-different-sports-has-won-300-medals-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/dad-working-on-a-cruise-ship-finances-a-serbian-champion-andrija-12-represents-serbia-in-two-different-sports-has-won-300-medals-video\/","title":{"rendered":"DAD WORKING ON A CRUISE SHIP FINANCES A SERBIAN CHAMPION: Andrija (12) Represents Serbia in Two Different Sports, Has Won 300 Medals! (VIDEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andrija Jagodi\u0107 is a boy who, at just 12 years old, can already boast more than 300 medals in two different sports. A multiple national karate champion, a member of the Bitevi\u0107 Team Karate Club, a successful basketball player for Partizan, and at the same time a Serbian national team representative in two disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andrija\u2019s parents are former athletes \u2014 a handball player and a volleyball player \u2014 who taught him discipline and hard work from the age of six. As a result, six years later, Andrija proudly wears Serbia\u2019s crest both on his karate gi and on his basketball jersey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve been training karate since I was six years old. I started because my parents wanted me to learn how to defend myself in all situations. I only started playing basketball a year and a half ago, and I\u2019ve already been called up to the Serbian national team. I began spending more time outside with my friends, and that\u2019s when I fell in love with the sport. I asked my parents if I could train in both sports, and we made it work,\u201d Andrija said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, financing two demanding sports is the biggest challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy dad works on a cruise ship in America. If he didn\u2019t work there, honestly, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d be able to compete in two sports \u2014 I\u2019d probably only be able to do one, and even that would be difficult. That\u2019s why he works on cruise ships for three months at a time and then spends two months here, helping us financially. While he\u2019s away, my mom drives me around and helps me, and of course my grandmother steps in whenever my mom can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although most elementary school boys choose football or basketball, karate completely captivated him. He initially practiced kata, a form often described as \u201cacting in karate,\u201d before moving on to sparring, which he enjoyed much more because of the contact and intensity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe speed, the dynamism of it all&#8230; It\u2019s a powerful sport. Through that speed, I developed reflexes that also helped me in basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Srpsko \u010dudo od deteta igra za reprezentaciju u dva sporta: Ima 12 godina, 300 medalja, 150 zlata!\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nbt7FmS7jiw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Growing Up Between Training Sessions and Straight-A Grades<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision to pursue two extremely demanding sports simultaneously came with tremendous support from his parents. They enrolled him in Partizan\u2019s basketball program, and as the number of training sessions increased, the time available for typical childhood activities decreased. Still, Andrija does not see it as a sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m missing out on much because training basketball and karate makes me happy. I wouldn\u2019t do it if I didn\u2019t truly want to. Also, the reason I\u2019m an excellent student with a perfect 5.00 GPA is because I want to excel in everything. Everything I do comes from genuine happiness, not because I have to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His daily schedule requires military-like discipline. Most days he has two training sessions \u2014 basketball or individual karate training in the morning, followed by homework, school, and another basketball practice in the evening. He usually studies between training sessions, on weekends, or during the rare free days he has. Fortunately, his school is highly supportive of his sporting achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy teachers really try to help me in every way, especially my homeroom teacher. Every absence is excused. The other teachers agree with that, so I really don\u2019t have any problems. Sometimes my friends get a little upset because I don\u2019t have much time to hang out. They\u2019re not very happy when they invite me somewhere and I can\u2019t go because of training and studying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Serbian Champion\u2019s Mentality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a boy who has more than 150 gold medals at home, success never becomes routine. He knows there is no room for complacency because the competition never sleeps. Whether it is a small tournament or a major championship, he always competes to win. Still, one challenge stands above all others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy far the toughest competition is the Balkan Championship. There are a lot of kids there \u2014 around 30 in my category \u2014 and it\u2019s very difficult because you compete against opponents you\u2019ve never faced before. It can be much harder because you enter the match unprepared and anything can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added that he prepares for such matches by specifically training speed and reaction time with his coaches, Bitevi\u0107 and Te\u0161anovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Representing Serbia is the highest honor for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s a huge honor to be number one for your entire country. It gives me even more motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Partizan Jersey, but a Red Star Heart<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His talent is equally evident on the basketball court, as shown by a third-place finish at the Final Four during his first competitive season with Partizan. His basketball coach, Bojan, also recognized Andrija\u2019s potential in karate and wholeheartedly supported him in continuing both sports, giving him significant playing time despite occasional absences. Still, the moment of choosing between the two sports is inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ll definitely have to choose eventually because I won\u2019t be able to continue both forever. I\u2019ll be older, school will become more demanding, I\u2019ll have even more training sessions, and I\u2019ll need to dedicate myself more fully to one sport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Interestingly, his club allegiance differs from his family loyalty. Although he delivers outstanding performances in Partizan\u2019s black-and-white jersey, his affection for their biggest rival is a family tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI support Red Star. My whole family supports Red Star, but when I play for Partizan against Red Star, of course I give my maximum for the team I\u2019m playing for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for the future, his plans are clear \u2014 a private sports high school, college in the United States, and fulfilling his childhood dreams: playing for Red Star and later reaching the NBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, aware that he already represents one of Serbia\u2019s brightest young sporting hopes, Andrija was asked whether the country might one day welcome him on the famous champions\u2019 balcony in Belgrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes! I\u2019ll do my best to make that happen, especially because I have enormous motivation whenever I compete for my country,\u201d Andrija concluded confidently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#d21414\" class=\"has-inline-color\">MORE TOPICS:<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/third-time-in-a-month-a-bomb-was-thrown-at-a-bakery-in-borca-the-shop-window-and-canopy-were-destroyed-a-camera-recorded-the-attacker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>THIRD TIME IN A MONTH: A bomb was thrown at a bakery in Borca, the shop window and canopy were destroyed, a camera recorded the attacker!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/the-best-year-in-the-last-10-as-many-as-29-pairs-and-25-chicks-of-the-eastern-imperial-eagle-were-registered-in-serbia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">THE BEST YEAR IN THE LAST 10: As many as 29 pairs and 25 chicks of the Eastern imperial eagle were registered in Serbia!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/the-kecmanovics-announced-an-appeal-the-lawyer-claims-that-the-verdict-does-not-differ-from-the-previous-one-and-that-the-key-accusation-was-not-proven\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">THE KECMANOVICS ANNOUNCED AN APPEAL: The lawyer claims that the verdict does not differ from the previous one and that the key accusation was not proven!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/basketball-earthquake-in-denver-the-nuggets-want-to-bring-bogdan-bogdanovic-to-jokic-and-create-a-serbian-tandem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">BASKETBALL EARTHQUAKE IN DENVER: The Nuggets want to bring Bogdan Bogdanovic to Jokic and create a \u201cSerbian tandem\u201d!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/parents-of-the-boy-killer-from-ribnikar-found-guilty-here-is-how-many-years-in-prison-the-kecmanovics-were-sentenced-to\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">PARENTS OF THE BOY-KILLER FROM RIBNIKAR FOUND GUILTY: Here is how many years in prison the Kecmanovics were sentenced to!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Source<\/strong>:<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sportal.blic.rs\/prica\/srpsko-cudo-12-sa-300-medalja-nastupa-za-dve-reprezentacije-2026061807293601407\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Sportal.rs<\/a>, <strong>Foto:<\/strong> Sportal.rs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Andrija Jagodi\u0107 is a boy who, at just 12 years old, can already boast more than 300 medals in two different sports. A multiple national karate champion, a member of the Bitevi\u0107 Team Karate Club, a successful basketball player for Partizan, and at the same time a Serbian national team representative in two disciplines. Andrija\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2169,"featured_media":212744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[13176,3802,249,615,1304,91,113,13177,1064],"class_list":["post-212743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-andrija-jagodic","tag-karate","tag-kosarka-2","tag-medalje","tag-reprezentacija","tag-sport","tag-srbija","tag-srpski-sampion","tag-uspeh","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Serbiantimes.info EN","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212743"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212777,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212743\/revisions\/212777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}