Justus Fischer is one of the young hopefuls for the upcoming Handball World Cup. The pivot from Hanover suddenly takes on special significance for national coach Alfred Gislason. He has to replace the injured Jannik Kohlbacher.
Ball athletes are generally sorted according to their hit rate – the best goal scorers are the greatest heroes. However, another factor is also important in handball: the ratio of the best throw blockers is an important indicator of the value of a defensive player. And these statistics show something interesting after the first half of the Bundesliga season: Hannover’s Justus Fischer takes second place. With 18 blocked throws, the Hanoverian ranks behind Gummersbach’s Stepan Zeman (22).
Without Heymann and Kohlbacher – new role for youngster Fischer
National coach Alfred Gislason likes players with strong defenses – or rather, players with all-rounder qualities and, above all, a sense of responsibility on the handball field. These are precisely the qualities that best characterize Justus Fischer.
The TSV Hannover-Burgdorf pivot is expected to play an important role at the upcoming World Cup, especially after the injury-related retirement of backcourt player Sebastian Heymann (bruised foot) and pivot Jannik Kohlbacher (elbow injury) shortly before the hot preparatory phase, which will begin on Friday (January 3, 2025). ) began in Hamburg.
Chatton on failures: “It kept us busy”
“The short-term changes to the squad also kept us busy over the holidays, but we also exchanged many details in a targeted manner. I can feel a growing anticipation among everyone for the reunion and the World Cup.”said national team manager Benjamin Chatton.
Gislason doesn’t panic either: “I’m really looking forward to spending a longer time with the team again,” he said. The coming days with short distances in the Hanseatic city should be “optimal” Gislason announced. With the tailwind of fourth place at the home European Championships and, above all, Olympic silver, the DHB coach exuded a lot of confidence with a view to the World Championships: “The team has every opportunity to get back to the semi-finals.”
Two main pillars of the young team come from Hanover in this project: backcourt left-hander Renars Uscins and pivot Fischer. While Uscins was trained in the youth ranks of SC Magdeburg and ended up in Hanover in 2022 after a temporary loan from Bergischen HC, Fischer moved to the “Recken-Schmiede” at the tender age of twelve and went through all the youth teams up to the men’s level .
Uscins and Fischer – “young wild people” from Hanover
The gigantic Fischer had worked his way up to TSV Burgdorf via the two regional district clubs HSC Hannover and TSV Anderten. He then rose from talent to seasoned professional within a very short space of time.
Under Gislason’s predecessor Christian Prokop, the two youngsters – Uscins is 22, Fischer 21 – matured into top performers in Hanover and made a huge leap this season in particular.
Success story in the national jersey
The two talents met for the first time at the DHB youth team in 2018 and promptly secured second place at the European Olympic Youth Festival (EYOF). It was to be the beginning of a success story that continues to this day.
In 2021, the two celebrated winning the U19 European Championship, won the gold medal at the U21 World Cup in their own country last year, took part in the home European Championship with the senior national team in January 2024 and played an important role in the Bundesliga. Hanoverians soar. Circular Fischer is one of the heroes and identification figures of a club whose home games in Hanover have now become events.
However, Fischer – as one of the “young, wild ones” and a face for the generational change in the German team – was actually planned as something like the “third man” on the circle behind Johannes Golla and Kohlbacher for the upcoming World Cup. After Kohlbacher’s retirement, he will now probably be pushed into a key role.
Fischer – “Player of the Month” three times in a row
He has already proven enough over the course of the season that he has what it takes to survive in this one. Fischer was voted “Player of the Month” in the Handball Bundesliga by handball fans three times in a row from September to November. A result of Fischer’s mixture of accuracy in attack, blocking strength and general defensive work, which also includes the so-called “steals”, the interception of opposing passes.
Justus Fischer in block action
These are skills that you can put to good use at the DHB in the coming weeks. Before we go to Denmark on January 12th, there are tough tests against Brazil on January 9th and 11th in Flensburg and Hamburg. On January 15th, Germany will start the finals in Denmark and Norway against Poland in Herning. The other opponents in the preliminary round are Switzerland (January 17th) and the Czech Republic (January 19th). The best three teams in the group of four reach the main round.