Sebastian Nad: We haven’t taken out the knife and the gun yet

Viktor Nemes, who lives in Kanjiža (Magyarkanizsa), is not only proud of his World Championship gold and bronze medals, but he is also a two-time silver and one-time bronze medalist at the European Championship in the Greco Roman 75 and 77 kg categories. He informed Nemzeti Sport that he has had a very successful preparation.

"We have a month and a half until the European Championships in Zagreb, so in the next few weeks, we will concentrate on getting back into top form," said Viktor Nemes. "The Serbian-Hungarian relationship is excellent, it is very beneficial for both teams to work together, so we can improve even more efficiently."

There must be some truth in what Nemeš says, as both teams are full of legendary players. The Serbian team includes Olympic bronze medalist, two-time world, and one-time European champion Zurabi Datunashvili and two-time World Championship bronze and European silver medalist Mihail Kadzaja.

However, Viktor's brother, Mate Nemes, also a World and European champion, didn't participate.

"He's suffering from a minor injury and is at home resting with his family. It could even be a good time for him to recharge his batteries now. He has two children, so he can finally spend a little more time with them," Viktor Nemes said about his brother's condition.

Sebastian Nad surprised everyone by moving down a weight class at the World Championships in Belgrade last September where he won a gold medal in the 63-kg category. But this is not an Olympic category, so he will have to fight Mate Nemes to take the 67-kg category at the World Championships in Belgrade this September again.

"We'll see which one of us is in better shape. It is not yet decided who will go to the European Championships. We have a good relationship; I'm from Kanjiža, and he's from Senta. We were also roommates for a long time, we trained a lot together, so it's especially difficult to wrestle against him, but if you have the same goal, you have to. So far, I haven't noticed that the rivalry between us has affected our relationship, so we haven't taken out the knife and the gun yet,” Sebastian Nad added jokingly.

Nađ also explained how he sees representing Serbia as an athlete of Hungarian origin.

"Usually there is a conflict over such issues," the world champion admitted. “As far as I'm concerned, there are no atrocities against me in the Serbian national team because of my Hungarian origin. But I don't deny the fact that we tease each other during playing football or basketball matches where we even team up like that. Overall, I can't say anything bad, I'm glad I was born where I was. I represent Serbia - it seems to be written for me that way, and I have no problem with it."     

In the summer of 2021, Wrestling Academy Vojvodina (VBA) which was built with the financial support of the Hungarian government was inaugurated in Kanjiza (Magyarkanizsa). Viktor Nemes and the team have a lot of training camps, but when they are at home, they often train at the facility.

"My girlfriend and I live in Kanjiza, and the training center is a ten-minute walk from me. I take advantage of the opportunity and, when I'm there, I try to help the kids," Nemes said. "I think the academy system is the future of wrestling. Our sport is one of the hardest in the world, it's especially hard to keep young people, and the excellent community that develops in training centers like VBA and KIMBA helps to reduce the dropout rate."