With the MT Melsungen he rushes from victory to victory. But before the Handball World Cup, right winger Timo Kastening has to fight for his place. However, several points speak in his favor.
Timo Kastening is only 29 years old and yet the captain of MT Melsungen has already taken on all sorts of roles with the German national handball team. “I’ve experienced everything from a shooting star to a regular player to being eliminated from the Olympics,” said Kastening in a media roundtable on Tuesday. “I want to play, I want to be there. But I’ll take any job, whether it’s on the plate, on the bench, in the stands – or if I have to drive home.” This possibility would also exist, after all, national coach Alfred Gislason decimated his squad again before the start. With a view to the upcoming World Cup, Kastening’s situation is quite tricky.
For one thing, he probably arrives with the broadest chest of all. Kastening is captain of the surprising first round champions MT Melsungenwas in great shape himself. He looks back on 59 international matches and has already taken part in three European Championships and once at the Olympic Games. At the same time, the year 2024 in the national team was more than mixed for him. At the home European Championships he did not reach his limit – also due to illness – and was subsequently no longer nominated then not for the Olympic Games either taken into account. He says: “Of course I’m new, I also know that the boys did an outstanding job at the Olympics.”
Great competition for the position
Without him, Germany won the silver medal and gained a lot of self-confidence. “The Olympics brought the team together, you can see that in the tactics, in training and even in the food,” says Kastening now. Those players who were there in France should have the Olympic aura. And: On the right wing, Kastening not only has competition from the “pure” right winger Lukas Zerbe, but also from Christoph Steinert. The all-rounder can play both the right winger and the half position, thus keeping the shooting star Renars Uscins free on defense. Coach Gislason rates Steinert’s value for the team highly, and he recently made that clear again.
There are still two test matches before the tournament: the German selection will face Brazil on Thursday (in Flensburg) and on Saturday (in Hamburg). Kastening doesn’t want to think too much about what significance the friendly games could have for him personally: “I don’t want to think about whether I’ll be nominated or not. I want to play my best handball and everything else will be seen.” It’s not about a missed throw, but about what a player can give to the team.
Statistics speak for Kastening
In addition to form and experience, the statistics from the first half of the season also speak for Kastening: with 57 goals and 6 assists, he is ahead of his competitor Zerbe (46-2) in the league. Kastening’s rate from seven meters alone (64%) worsened. A key discipline for Melsunger is steals – with eleven, he is third among all players in the league.
Kastening is certain that the competition for the World Cup ticket should not have an impact on the climate: “We don’t have a culture of envy. As everywhere, whether in the office or in sports, there are of course small groups who sometimes have coffee together “But I would describe it as a positive group culture,” said the Melsunger. He naturally has a special connection with Johannes Golla, with whom he shared a room at past tournaments. Captain Golla gave recently announced his return to Kastenings MT.
Melsunger puts the brakes on expectations
Kastening raves about the team spirit in the national team, but also curbs expectations. The team now has a core that meets again and again and is coordinated with one another. “Within the team we have world championship potential. But it’s still a question of development.” Currently the team would lose eight of ten games against Denmark. Only when the relationship is balanced can one talk about “gold entitlement”. “We’re still a long way from that.” After all, Kastening is familiar with the role of warning when there are great expectations, especially from MT Melsungen.
