He hopes to draw inspiration from the capital
On Thursday, in the first part of the duel for the ticket to the 2025 World Championship, the Lithuanians will host the Hungarian handball players in Vilnius. The return match will be played in Vesprem on Sunday.
The Hungarians are the obvious favorites of the pair, who are regaining their previously lost positions on the world stage.
This year, they finished fifth at the European Championships and then achieved their goal at the Olympic qualifying tournament held at home – the Hungarian national team will step onto the Olympic field in Paris this summer after a 12-year absence.
And the Lithuanian mission is further complicated by the loss of key players who have exposed the defense: Jonas Truchanovičius is again recovering from a serious knee injury, and captain Gerdas Babarskas has been detained by back pain.
“The national team is a bit damaged, there are no key players. Such losses cannot be compensated, we no longer have players of this level.
But even with them, we would not be favorites. The mood is positive, we are preparing seriously, we hope for the help of the audience, because we have achieved our greatest victories precisely with the support of a large audience. Until the end of the match, nobody has won or lost anything. We will try to rehabilitate after the last unsuccessful meetings with Hungary, to show that we fixed something, improved something”, commented A. Malašinskas.
“Other people took vacant seats, got a chance to perform. Everyone is ready for the fight, I hope that new leaders will emerge who will take the lead in defense”, coach Gintaras Savukynas encouraged the students.
He hopes the team will be inspired by a return to the capital, where they have not played since 2021’s memorable victory over Iceland that opened the door to the final stage of the European Championship.
“In Vilnius, we have defeated not only the Icelanders, but also the Norwegians, having fought seriously against the French and Croatians. I think it should add some motivation and good emotions to the team,” said the 53-year-old specialist.
In the first round of the selection, the Lithuanians met the Finns in Alytus last March – a persistent battle was won only after a series of penalties.
The national team played that time without its head coach, because G. Savukynas was not allowed to go to his homeland by the Doha “Al Arabi” (Qatar) club he coached. So, the man from Aly tried to command his compatriots remotely.
“Then, from the beginning of the preparation, we were in close contact by means of communication. Even during the match, I kept statistics and with the help of our doctor Gediminas Butis, I tried to forward messages to the headquarters, what to do, what to change. Whether that information came on time is hard to say, but that was already the situation,” recalled G. Savukynas.
The old man is already calm about the next season
This time, G. Savukynas can fully devote himself to the preparations for the clashes with the Hungarians, since the coach has already parted ways with the Qatari club.
At that time, A. Malašinskas – on the contrary – is not going to move anywhere from Romania.
This season, the offensive player conducts the attacks of the “Buzau” team and shines in the middle ranks of the championships, once he was even chosen as the best player of the month of the championship.
Although a few weeks ago, the Ute student turned 38.
“Maybe I didn’t even expect that the Romanian league would be so strong. I really like it there, which is why we extended the contract for another year. If it were bad, I definitely wouldn’t stay,” said the veteran, who played in Germany and Spain in the past, and spent his best years in the Ukrainian flagship Zaporozhye Motor.
Having already played over a hundred matches in the national team and becoming its most productive representative of all time, the six-time best Lithuanian handball player of the year is still in no hurry to say goodbye.
“15 years ago, I thought I would play until I was thirty and that would be enough. And here I am, 38 years old, and I’m still playing.
And I wonder myself. But if injuries don’t bother you, health allows – it’s still possible. I don’t have any deadlines marked down in advance – I used to have them, but as the years went by, they kept slipping and sliding until they didn’t make sense anymore.
Of course, age is felt, but as long as I still play professionally abroad, I will try to help our national team as well”, promised A. Malašinskas.
The match between Lithuanian and Hungarian handball players will start at 19:00 on Thursday at Twinsbet Arena.
The 2025 World Cup will be held in Croatia, Denmark and Norway.
The only time Lithuanians played in the World Championship was in 1997, when they took 10th place among 24 teams in Japan.
