Speed, tricks and great goals: Germany’s handball players celebrated a resounding victory in the first international match of the Olympic year.
The team of national coach Markus Gaugisch defeated Slovakia 40:18 (20:8) away in the European Championship qualification and came a big step closer to taking part in the finals in Switzerland, Austria and Hungary.
Captain Alina Grijseels and left winger Antje Döll (both 8) scored the most goals for the selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) on Thursday in front of around 2,000 spectators in the City Sports Hall in Sala, Slovakia. Another victory in the second duel with the Slovaks on Sunday (6.15 p.m./Sportdeutschland.TV) in Düsseldorf could secure the ticket for the European Championship tournament from November 28th to December 15th, 2024. Germany leads qualifying group 2 with 4-0 points, other opponents are Ukraine and Israel.
As expected, Gaugisch didn’t experiment at the start of the game. The upcoming weeks with the Olympic qualification tournament from April 11th to 14th are too important, when the DHB women play in Neu-Ulm against Slovenia, Montenegro and Paraguay for one of two tickets for the Summer Games in Paris.
The DHB women started with appropriate motivation and gave their overwhelmed opponent no chance in the early stages. Four counter-attacks after winning the ball in defense gave Emily Bölk and Co. a four-goal lead after just three minutes. Katharina Filter nailed her goal at the back and excelled in the first section with a catch rate of almost 50 percent.
Gaugisch’s team, which took sixth place at the World Championships almost two and a half months ago, continued to expand their lead with impressive combinations. The DHB coach gave his regular players around Bölk and Grijseels breaks to take a breather as the game length increased and tried out different forms of play on offense.