World Aquatics has granted permission to Boris Vapenski and Nikola Murisic to represent the Serbian national team, effective this summer.
Vapenski, a left-handed goalgetter, is making a return to the Serbian national team after a 14-year hiatus, while former centre-forward of the Montenegrin national team Murisic, 33, will have the chance to make his debut. Both have participated in Serbia’s preparations for Singapore since the first gathering early in June.
Head coach Uros Stevanovic has not finalized the roster for the World Championships in Singapore, but the inclusion of these two players is encouraging news for both them and the entire national team as they enter the final phase of their preparations for the championships. Next weekend, Serbia will play at the tournament in Budapest, along with Hungary, Spain and Montenegro.
Vapenski, 35, won a European bronze medal in 2010, as well as gold medals at the 2010 World Cup and the 2011 World League with Serbia. Between 2020 and 2022, he represented Georgia. He recently returned to Serbian club water polo by joining Radnicki.
Vapenski has played for clubs in Serbia, Hungary, Italy, and Georgia, and he won the Champions League in 2013 as a member of Crvena Zvezda.
Nikola Murisic, Vapenski’s teammate in Radnicki, hasn’t played for Montenegro since 2019.
