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Mercenaries find it ‘hard’ to fight for Qatar
RIO DE JANEIRO: It was hard, according to Croatian back Marko Bagaric, but the Olympic dream can make people do strange things.
RIO DE JANEIRO: It was hard, according to Croatian back Marko Bagaric, but the Olympic dream can make people do strange things.
Bagaric’s team beat his homeland Croatia 30-23 in a stunning opening to the handball tournament. His team is Qatar and he is one of 11 “mercenaries” in the oil and gas rich Gulf state’s 14-man squad in Rio.
The hardest part for Bagaric came during the national anthems. After, it was a match like any other.
“I played with many of these players, and I lived with some of them in Croatia, in clubs,” said the 30-year-old, who scored a goal in the victory. “The worst feeling was during the national anthem. Ah, but what can I do? Qatar gave me the opportunity to play in the Olympic Games. It is the dream of any sportsman. For me it was hard, but after the game, I can relax.”
Croatia were amongst the favourites. But they were handed a hiding by last year’s World Championship finalists.
Qatar have made great waves in the sport, becoming the first team outside of Europe to win a world medal. But it has not been without controversy. The team is made up of five players from the Balkans, two Syrians, a Frenchman, a Spaniard, a Cuban and an Egyptian.
