The legendary radiant Serbian setter shared her expectations and emotions before her last Olympic Games of her career.

Maja Ognjenović, one of the most famous "symbols" of great Serbian volleyball, will have the honor of being one of the country's two flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Interviewed bysportklub.rs, she spoke about her state of mind and emotions before the new adventure under the "Five Intertwined Rings."

FLAG BEARER – "We were in Florence for friendly matches in Italy. After the second match, in the locker room, Tijana Bošković was the first to hug me with congratulations, and then the rest of the team did the same. Honestly, I didn't even know it then. The news hadn't reached me yet. They probably read it somewhere," Ognjenović said.

WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE – "A great emotion, an exceptional honor, and I must admit that hundreds of congratulatory messages have arrived since then... I think I don't even realize how great an honor has been bestowed upon me."

THE LAST OLYMPICS – "Aside from the fact that, from a personal perspective, the Olympic Games will be a special competition for me, as well as the games themselves, after a long series of years, the moment has come when I will say goodbye to the national jersey. But, again, I cannot compare this event with the recognition of being a flag bearer. Believe me – this pride, excitement, and honor that is being given to me cannot be compared to anything else. It's good that it coincided with my farewell, so I think there will be a lot of emotions. Even if the final result is what we expect, it will be a true finale."

THE GOLD MEDAL – "Besides the medal we are missing, we, as a national team, have always had the highest possible goals and ambitions. The competition does not speak well in our favor. I mean, there are six absolutely equally strong teams competing for the three medals, but I believe that we have both the mental and physical strength to achieve our greatest desire, so I hope August 11th will be the best possible day for us and the end of the final."

PREPARATION – "The atmosphere here is always fantastic. This preparation was perhaps the shortest compared to previous years because our attention was focused only on the Olympic Games. This competition that precedes the games – VNL – it seems to me that seven of us didn't even play precisely for this reason, to prepare as best as possible, to do two weeks of preparation in Kopaonik. We started with the preparatory matches, which particularly pleases us because it shows the real appearance and form of the team. On July 23rd, we will fly to Paris on the first flight from Belgrade, and we can't wait," the radiant Maja Ognjenović concluded with a smile.

Photos:tvarenasport.comandzurnal.rs