Sinjska Alka tournament held in Vukovar

The Sinjska Alka lancing tournament, that is annually held in August in the Dalmatian town of Sinj in memory of the victory by 700 Croatian defenders of Sinj against 60,000 Ottoman soldiers under Mehmed Pasha Celic on August 14, 1715, was held on Saturday in Vukovar as a token or respect for that eastern Croatian town that experienced tribulations in the Homeland Defence War.

The historical tournament has to date been organised outside Sinj only three times, and the Vukovar event drew the state leadership, including President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, new Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, a few cabinet ministers, Bosnian Croat leader Dragan Covic, as well as local authorities and some 5,000 spectators.

The Alka duke Ante Vucic said at the start of the race that Sinjska Alka tournament participants had arrived in Vukovar to pay tribute to the defenders of the town of Vukovar.

Text: Hina