In the last third round of the selection tournament, the Lithuanian national team coached by Gintaras Savukynas will fight against the Hungarian national team. The first meeting will be held on May 9. in the biggest Vilnius “Twinsbet” arena, return match – May 12. In the Hungarian city of Veszprém.
In the duel with the future participants of the Paris Olympic Games, the Hungarians, the Lithuanian national team did not avoid painful losses. Due to a serious knee injury, the only Lithuanian who won the Champions League – Jonas Truchanovičius – has not been able to help the national team for a long time, health problems also stopped the captain of the Lithuanian national team, Gerda Babarskas.
“Gerda suffered from back pain even in the last selection round. However, despite this, he helped the Lithuanian national team overcome the Finnish barrier. Unfortunately, the situation regarding Gerd’s health did not improve. The doctors at the Aix club are working with him individually and trying to get him to play in the decisive match of the French championship. Due to a foot injury, Ben Butkaus, who is competing in Germany, will not be in the national team either. The loss of a line player is also a significant loss, says Lithuanian national team coach G. Savukynas. – We have to admit that we don’t have a suitable replacement for players like Truchanović or Babarskas. There are no professional handball players in Lithuania, so for various reasons some invited players cannot join the national team. Andrius Montvilas from Kaunas “Granit” will not come to the national team due to exams at the university, Martynas Lapinskas from the “Vilnius” club cannot participate in the national team due to his employment.”
The coach claims that the team should be led forward by the long-term leaders of the national team who have accumulated experience in 2022. In the European Championship, EHF Champions and European Leagues and strong national championships.
“It is not the first year that Aiden Malašinskas has been the leader of the national team. The experienced 37-year-old offensive player is our guide in attack and the main organizer of attacks. Recently, Karolis Antanavičius, who does not shy away from taking the role of leader and was the most productive in the last selection round, looks much more solid in the national team and shows a solid game. Defensively, we expect a lot of help from the goaltenders. Without our defensive towers Truchanovičius and Babarskas, the goalkeepers will have a considerable responsibility, says G. Savukynas. – Benas Petreikis and Mindaugas Dumčiai should also be included among the leaders. They have been playing for several seasons in the second German league, which is among the strongest in Europe. Ben has also competed in the first German league, which is considered the strongest in Europe. After a break, Gabrielius Virbauskas returns to the national team, who has been playing very effectively in the Romanian championship lately.”
According to the ranking, the Lithuanian national team, which entered the second round of the World Championship selection, overcame the first barrier only after a dramatic struggle. Both meetings of the Lithuanian national team with the Finns ended in a draw – 20:20 away and 26:26 at home. The Lithuanians won a place in the next round after defeating the Finns in Alytus in a penalty shootout.
G. Savukynas hopes that the victory achieved after a fierce fight, the confidence gained in his own strength and the support of the spectators in Vilnius will help to achieve a positive result with the powerful Hungarian national team, which took a high 5th place in this year’s European Championship and won a ticket to the Paris Olympic Games in the selection tournament.
“The result of the first match will be an indicator for the further course of the match and the final result of the match will depend a lot on the outcome of the first match. At home, the support of the audience is very important to us. We are the home team and the spectators are our eighth player, – asserts the coach of the Lithuanian national team. – The Lithuanian national team has won all the most important victories at home. The last example is that the national team of Iceland was defeated at home, and this victory guaranteed Lithuanian handball players a ticket to the 2022 European Championship.”
Lithuanian handball players have participated in the world championship only once. in 1997 Lithuanian handball players took 10th place in the world championships. The current coach of the national team G. Savukynas also competed in the world championship held in Japan.
Among the 18 players invited to the national team, there are eleven handball players competing in the Lithuanian championship and seven in foreign clubs. The average age of the players is 25.4 years. The oldest – 37-year-old A. Malašinskas, 36-year-old Giedrius Morkūnas and 32-year-old B. Petreikis, the youngest – 17-year-old Matas Kairys, 19-year-old Tomas Drakšas and 20-year-olds Ernestas Stvolas, Mantas Urvikis and brothers Romas and Matas Highlands.
Composition of the Lithuanian national team:
Goalkeepers: Lukas Gurskis (Vilnius Amber), Matas Pranckevičius and Giedrius Morkūnas (both Vilnius Šviesa).
Left edges: Ernestas Stvolas (“Amber”) and Mantas Urvikis (“Light”).
Left Half Edges: Karolis Antanavičius (Hard Alpla, Austria), Matas Aukštikalnis (Amber), Modestas Štarolis (Kaunas “Granitas-Karys”) and Matas Kairys (Klaipėda “Dragūnas”).
Offensive players: Aiden Malašinskas (HC Buzau, Romania), Ben Petreikis (TuS N-Lubbecke, Germany), Romas Aukštikalnis (Empor Rostock, Germany) and Tomas Drakšas (Dragūnas).
Lineman: Dziugas Jusys (HSG Hanau, Germany).
Right half edges: Mindaugas Dumčius (Elbflorenz Dresden, Germany) and Žan Gabrielius Virbauskas (CSM Bacau, Romania).
Right edges: Marius Kairys (“Granitas-Karys”) and Mykolas Lapiniauskas (“Dragūnas”).
Tags: Lithuanian handball players started preparations decisive World Championship qualifying match
