DHB: Handball juniors in a gold rush: U18 is European champion

The German junior handball team are European champions. Coach Erik Wudtke’s squad dominated the U18 final in Belgrade, defeating Slovenia 36-27 (17-11) and securing another gold medal for the German Handball Federation (DHB) in youth handball.

Among the German gold medalists are Elvis Kretzschmar, son of handball icon Stefan Kretzschmar, and Kalle Gaugisch, son of women’s national team coach Markus Gaugisch. In their opening match of the main round, the German U18 team had narrowly lost to Slovenia.

This victory continues the DHB’s impressive run of success in youth handball. At the beginning of July, the U20 women’s team were crowned world champions, following the U19 team’s European Championship win the previous year. Both the U17 and U19 men’s teams also won their respective World Championship titles last year.

The German U18 team’s U18 squads were among the gold medalists last year. “These successes show that we are still on the right track and have promising talents with great potential in both genders. We must continue to support these players sustainably, and that can only be achieved together with the clubs,” said DHB Sports Director Ingo Meckes.

Germany plays with a frenzy

Germany started nervously and fell behind 5-8 after several missed shots. But the aggressive defense increasingly caused problems for Slovenia. The German team forced numerous turnovers and turned the game around to lead 15-11. Stefan Kretzschmar, who had driven from Germany especially for the final, cheered from the stands.

The German handball icon watched as Slovenia collapsed after the break and gifted Slovenia a string of goals. DHB goalkeeper Tobias Dengler played a key role with some spectacular saves in his team pulling away to a 20-11 lead. Germany went over ten minutes without conceding a goal. The game was effectively over early on.