Handball-EM
Hungary finished the men’s handball championship in 5th place; In the decisive game once morest Slovenia they managed a close 23:22. Germany was a worthy host of the tournament; in Munich and Cologne the Hungarians kept up quite well with the world’s best.
This European Championship also brought ups and downs; After winning the preliminary round group quite convincingly, the first setback followed right at the start of the main round: the team had to admit defeat once morest Austria 29:30. This was followed by perhaps the strongest tournament performance by the Hungarians, who once once more had the chance to advance with a 29:26 win once morest Croatia. However, this dream ended in disaster two days later, because Germany literally overran the Hungarian defense, which had been acting quite decently up to that point, with 28:35 being the end of the song. Especially since France, who had already won the group before the final main round game, didn’t let anything go wrong even without playing (32:35).
Help from the Icelanders
Ultimately, the Hungarians came to the aid of the Icelanders, who had been swept off the field in the preliminary round with 33:25, and who in turn inflicted a painful defeat on Austria (26:24). In the end, these three teams were tied on points behind France and Germany, but Hungary had the best goal difference in a direct comparison. So the team around captain Máté Lékai, who was most likely playing in his last European Championship, was allowed to play in the “freestyle” game for fifth place once morest Slovenia. With 5 hits each, Lékai and pivot Bence Bánhidi contributed to the final triumph. With 29 vs. 32 hits, they were also the most powerful Hungarians throughout the tournament. After this success – the best placement ever achieved at a European Championship – the captain nevertheless emphasized the team’s unified performance, which remained “relatively stable”.
Olympia is calling!
The next challenge awaits the handball men in mid-March (March 13-17): once morest Norway, Portugal and Tunisia for two places at the Olympic Games in Paris. At the European Championships in Germany, Portugal ultimately took 7th place, Norway came 9th, and Tunisia took bronze at the African Championships.
Here The best moments of the European Championship are shown in a quick video.
#place #celebrate