Vasilij Zakoski, a fifth-grade student from Tetovo, is a gifted individual in multiple fields, particularly in mathematics and tennis, with numerous awards, medals, diplomas, and recognitions in these two distinct domains. He is one of the recipients of the Tetovo Municipality Day recognition on March 3, for his contribution to the city’s affirmation. Despite being ten years old (born in April 2012), Vasilij is currently the top-ranked tennis player in the under-12 category at the national level. As a state champion in that category for the first time, he has been selected to participate in the national team training camp and tournament in Antalya, Turkey. In February, he also won first place in the municipal mathematics competition, as well as a gold medal in the “Mathematics Without Borders” international competition – the only accredited international competition in our country, in which participants from over 27 countries take part.
Over the past few years, he has achieved numerous first places in various mathematics and tennis competitions. In 2022, he won first places in the Macedonian Mathematical Olympiad, the “Kengur” competition, and the Spring Round of the “Mathematics Without Borders” municipal competition. He also won several second and third places.
In tennis, he has been winning in age categories higher than his own for years. In 2022, he won first place at the tournaments held as part of the Macedonian Open, as well as first place at the Cherry Cup international tennis tournament for boys under 11. Last year’s Macedonian Open tournaments saw him earn two second and two third places, as well as one third place in the team competition. In 2021, at the age of eight, he won two first places at tournaments where children under 11 or Green Tennis competed, and a first-place in doubles at an international tennis competition held in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Vasilij became interested in tennis as a young child while his grandfather, Maria’s father, took care of him, watching these sports competitions regularly on television. This is how the idea of joining the Ljuboten club in Tetovo came about. He started training at the age of four in a group, and since Tetovo only had training in the summer, the coaches recommended that he continue his training in Skopje.
“ They told us that he had talent and that if we had the conditions, he should continue to pursue tennis. We started taking him to training in Skopje too. He only had one-on-one training with a coach, who later started taking him to tournaments, and that’s how he started to progress. He himself wanted to start and accepted to continue training in Skopje. It’s a big sacrifice to travel and train every day,” said his mother Marija Zakoska about his early tennis training.
His parents support him in playing tennis because doctors advised them that this sport helps with better eye focus, as Vasilij wears glasses. They were also encouraged by the fact that they were advised that he was good and should continue to improve in this sport.
For his talent in mathematics, both his parents are confident that he has a genetic predisposition. Maria and Aleksandar, his mother and father respectively, studied in the natural-mathematical branch at the Tetovo gymnasium and were excellent in mathematics, even though they later chose other fields for their university education. There is also some family genetic connection to sports, as Vasilij’s grandfather’s brother is the renowned football player Steve Zakoski and Maria’s father played football.
“He has a talent for mathematics, without a doubt. His teacher said that he stood out in his class even in the second grade, that he was solving problems for older children without any special effort. Now, because of tennis and training sacrifice, he doesn’t have much time to devote to mathematics. With a little effort, he solves a lot of problems and wins many awards, first places, medals, and similar. If he dedicated more time to
