“I want to be a bridge for sports exchanges between Serbia and China,” Serbian basketball coach Bojan Popovich told Xinhua. In the charming central and Eastern Europe section of the 4th china-central and Eastern European countries’ Fair and consumer goods expo, a brightly colored panel shows Popovich’s ongoing china-cee basketball cooperation project.
“This is my seventh year in China, and I feel comfortable and meaningful developing my basketball career there,” said Popovich, 42.
In 2019, Popovich and Chinese partner Li Yanbei co-founded Ningbo Zhongsai Sports Culture Communication Co. , Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhongsai Sports”) , we are committed to promoting sports and cultural exchanges between China and Serbia and improving the sports ability of Chinese youth. The main business of the company includes: promoting the introduction and integration of Serbian youth training system and coach training system in Serbia, building a platform for cross-border basketball competition and cultural exchange, and promoting international events.
“The first year I came to China, I was fascinated by the Chinese love of basketball from the bottom of their hearts. Chinese teenagers have huge potential and I want to help them grow up with my professional knowledge and experience,” Popovich said.
Popovich, who has 13 years of basketball coaching experience, is working with Chinese students of all ages, from primary school to university, to gain experience in developing a chinese-style training system. China-serbia sports has provided professional basketball training for more than 1200 teenagers in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. In August last year, the company took students to Serbia, with European basketball youth to participate in a 10-day basketball camp in Cyprus.
According to Popovich, Serbian tennis and judo are also being introduced into china-serbia sports. “Our goal is to build a multi-level sports cooperation program between China and Serbia, from the national level to the local level.”