Charting Fresh Waters

Serbia-born Sekulic plays key role as US women's water polo team hunt for glory

- Deepanraj Ganesan

Jovana Sekulic may not have the most typical American-sounding name. And while her journey to the United States women's water polo team started in waters far away from the US, she has made the most out of an opportunity.

The only player on the US roster born outside the country, the Serbia-born 22-year-old grew up playing water polo in Belgrade. Today, she is one of the Americans' key players, as she seeks to help them clinch their sixth world title in seven editions at the ongoing World Aquatics Championships (WCH) in Singapore.

Sekulic picked up the sport from a very early age in Belgrade where, despite the popularity of the sport in Eastern Europe and the success of the men's national team—who have won three consecutive Olympic gold medals—the women's team have yet to notch their first Olympic appearance.

But before she could even aspire to grow in the sport and represent the Serbian women on the biggest stage, the American dream took precedence for her family when she was just 12.

Sekulic said: "Water polo is huge for men in Serbia, but for women, it's not so popular. But I remember going to the Serbian national team games and I always dreamed of being a big player and competing on the international stage for Serbia. But then my family moved to the United States, and I never really thought that I could be good enough to play for the US team."