President Milanović Receives Medallists of the World Ninepin Bowling Championships
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović today received the medallists of the 2025 World Ninepin Bowling Championships, along with their coaches and representatives of the Croatian Pin Bowling Federation. At the 11th World Team Ninepin Bowling Championships, held from 27 May to 7 June in Hungary, the Croatian women’s national team won the gold medal, successfully defending the world champion title they had earned in 2023. At the World Youth Ninepin Bowling Championships, Croatian athletes won a total of 14 medals.
“Croatia is by far the most successful nation at the World Youth Ninepin Bowling Championships and is currently the leading force in world ninepin bowling among younger age categories,” said Tonči Mikac, President of the Croatian Pin Bowling Federation and Director of the national team.
Although ninepin bowling is not an Olympic sport and is not widely known to the public, representatives of the Federation noted that it has a long tradition in Croatia and throughout Europe. They expressed particular pride in the strong participation of young people in the sport, which they attributed to the many youth training camps organized by the Federation. “We invest in youth development, and as a result, our young bowlers have won many medals and convincingly outperformed the competition,” added Mikac.
Present at the Office of the President of the Republic were the gold medallists from the 11th Women’s World Team Championship: Ana Bacan Schneider, Venesa Bogdanović, Valentina Gal, Matea Juričić, Sara Pejak, Paula Polanšćak, Nataša Ravnić, Klara Sedlar, and Anja Vicković; the medallists from the 16th World U19 Championship: Nika Štetić, Niko Kalvi, and Saša Rapaić; and the medallists from the 1st World U15 Championship: Lana Pavlinec, Simona Zukanović, Luka Jakovina, and Petar Štefok.
Alongside Federation President Tonči Mikac and Secretary General Zoran Jagić, the medallists were accompanied by their coaches: Darinka Bunić, Miljenko Šarac, Zdenko Sušac, Ana Vidan, and Nina Ivančić Mulalić.
President Milanović was accompanied by Tomislav Paškvalin, Commissioner of the President of the Republic for Sports.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta