After semi-final defeat: DHB star causes a stir
January 27, 2024 – 2:24 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The day after the 26:29, the playmaker appeared at a media event. And speaks bluntly and plainly.
A dejected Juri Knorr expressed strong self-criticism after Germany’s semi-final defeat at the European Handball Championship. “I allowed myself to be paralyzed a bit by the fear of the magnitude of the moment. I don’t want that again, it’s not worth it,” said the playmaker the day after the 26:29 against Denmark: “Experience has shown me that you don’t get anywhere with it and that in the end you just blame yourself for it.”
In the game in front of almost 20,000 spectators in Cologne, Germany held up well, especially in the first half. After the break, however, the broader squad and the individual class of the Danish world champions were decisive. Knorr then struggled immensely and found it difficult to sleep.
“I got drunk for a bit with my cell phone, then I read until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore,” reported Knorr at a media event in Cologne on Saturday. Even after the short night, he found it visibly difficult to look ahead. “It’s just disappointing when you wake up the next day and think there was more, it could have been more.”
“It’s just extremely bitter”
The remaining chance of bronze in the game for third place against Sweden on Sunday (from 3 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) and the associated chance of a direct Olympic ticket are little consolation for Knorr.
Knorr had already spoken of a “huge missed opportunity” on the ARD sports show on Friday evening. He doesn’t want to lose in one of the “biggest games” of his career “in such a way that after the game I feel like I didn’t give it my all.” The middleman of the Rhein-Neckar Löwen, he emphasized, was only referring to himself.
“Many teams have made it to the semi-finals. Of course it’s a great success and that’s all well and good. But we had the opportunity to do it. We did well for one half, but not for two halves. That’s just extremely bitter ” said the 23-year-old. He added that he “didn’t want to be the kind of athlete who is happy when he reaches the semi-finals.”