Budapest (AP) – France’s handball superstar Nikola Karabatic was exhausted after a rarely experienced roller coaster ride of emotions.
“It was a crazy game. I haven’t experienced anything like that in a long time,” said the 37-year-old after the Olympic champion made it into the semi-finals of the European Championship thanks to the wondrous comeback in the 30:29 win against Denmark. “We believed in it and fought our way to the end. It was a big race to catch up.”
With twelve minutes to go, the “Equipe tricolore” was four goals behind. The journey home threatened. But then the team pulled themselves together for an unbelievable energy performance. “We played with heart, anger and energy,” said top pitcher Hugo Descat. For Karabatic, the dream of a fourth European Championship triumph with France after 2006, 2010 and 2014 lives on. “It makes you really proud to have won this game,” said the veteran.
France now in the semifinals against Sweden
Karabatic and Co. are now fighting for the final ticket this Friday (6 p.m.) against the World Cup runners-up and record European champions Sweden – and want to take revenge for the World Cup semifinals they lost last year. A lot will depend on Karabatic. “Nikola was a real boss,” backcourt player Melvyn Richardson praised the father of two for his strong performance in the duel with the Danes.
The oldie may not be the captain of the team, but he is a very important link between the old and new generation of players on and off the court. When Karabatic made his debut for France in November 2002, many of his current team-mates were just preschoolers. Since then, the exceptional talent, who has won Olympic gold three times and been world champion four times, has played more than 300 international matches for the Grande Nation.
Karabatic also left traces in Germany in the course of his successful career. From 2005 to 2009 he played for the record champions THW Kiel under the current national coach Alfred Gislason. In 2007 he won the Champions League with Kiel, which he also did in 2003 with Montpellier HB and in 2015 with FC Barcelona.
Karabatic criticizes “lax corona rules”
The European Championships in Hungary and Slovakia almost took place without the Paris Saint-Germain professional. At the end of December, a PCR test at Karabatic was positive. But just in time for the start of the tournament, he reported himself fit again – and even before the first game he was loudly upset about the lax Corona rules in Hungary. “We are stunned by the conditions under which this EM stands,” he scolded. “We have followed strict protocols to avoid catching the virus. And then we arrive here at the hotel and we move among guests who are not wearing masks. We also eat at the same places,” he said.
It is true that the French were not hit as hard by the omicron wave in the final round as, for example, the German team, in which a total of 16 players were affected. But they didn’t make it through unscathed either. Head coach Guillaume Gille and circle player Nicolas Tournat are in quarantine and will probably miss the semifinals against Sweden.
But no matter: the Denmark game strengthened the French in their belief in victory. “It was a real mental challenge,” said Karabatic after the final whistle. “We could have dropped our heads and stopped playing, but we still persevered and kept going,” he said. Maybe there will even be a reunion with the Danes in the final on Sunday. They meet defending champions Spain in the other semi-final.