06.08.2015.
Serbia in the semi-finals of the Tank Biathlon
The tank crew of the Serbian Armed Forces entered the semifinals of the Tank Biathlon, qualifying among the eight best teams. In the morning, the last race of the first phase of the competition ended, after which it was officially known which eight teams would drive the "relay race" on 13 August on Alabino training ground near Moscow. Although the official results were announced today, after the yesterday's race in which our third crew achieved very good result, it was clear that the Serbian tank crew would certainly enter the second phase of the competition.The semifinals will feature, along with Serbia - Russia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The competition ended for the teams of Angola, Venezuela, Mongolia, Nicaragua and Kuwait.
Colonel Zeljko Kuzmanovic, the leader of our team is satisfied with what his selected ones have so far proved. He says that it is now important to concentrate on the semi-final race.
- Our men are ready to fight for the finals. We are aware of how difficult it is to win entry among the top four among the eight highly trained teams. However, so far we have shown that we have the knowledge and ability to cope with everyone on par and we will fight for every second and every hit. This result proves that the training of SAF tank units does not fall behind the world's great armies - Colonel Kuzmanovic says.
Unlike last year, teams will compete in the relay race in the final and semi-final. The rules require that each team only drive one tank, and that the crews in it change. If the crew misses some of the gun targets, the machine gun or anti-aircraft machine gun has to drive the so-called "penal circles" which greatly reduces the chances for high rankings. Any faults in the equipment will affect the outcome in the upcoming race to a greater extent than what has been the case so far in the competition.
All competitors agree that the semi-finals on 13 August will be very uncertain because several teams from the top of the table, which includes Serbia, had very similar results, and the details will decide.
During the phase of individual races, tanks of the Serbian team were marked in yellow, while the draw on 10 August will again decide the colour of tanks and the track numbers.
The Tank Biathlon is, without doubt, the most interesting competition at the first International Military Games, and has therefore attracted the greatest media interest.
It is expected that the semi-finals and finals on 13 August and 15 August, when the closing ceremony will take place, will be attended by several thousand spectators, and the attendance of the senior military representatives of the participating countries has been announced.
PHOTOGALLERY
