The best Austrian at the Handball World Cup in the role of motivator

Austria will have to do without the exceptional player Mykola Bilyk at the World Cup. The 28-year-old can only watch due to a thigh injury.

As we all know, hope dies last. Although it was almost clear that Austria would be at the… World Championships in Porec (from January 14th) had to do without the best player, wanted star players Mykola Bilyk a little handball miracle. “The thigh is getting better and better, but I’m still far from 100 percent,” he said at the media day in the Hollabrunner Hall. Bilyk didn’t miss it – similar to that David Alaba with the ÖFB team – being part of the game, as motivation incarnate, so to speak.

“It is extremely important to me to be there for several reasons. Firstly, I enjoy being with the boys, not only on the pitch but also off it. In addition, I can advance my rehabilitation with the physios. And I don’t have to train alone. So the combination works.”

Bad results

But then came a planned follow-up MRI. The diagnosis said that the muscle in his thigh had not yet completely healed, which meant that the final siren sounded for Bilyk before the World Cup began. “It was only a mini-chance anyway,” he consoles himself. The risk would have been too great, and his club THW Kiel would probably have had a say.

Bilyk and the World Cup, a relationship with mixed feelings. In 2015 he was in the World Cup squad at the tournament in Qatar and scored ten goals in six games. In 2019 in Denmark and Germany he scored 27 goals in seven games. In 2021 he missed the finals due to a knee injury, and Austria failed to qualify in 2023. So that leaves 2027 as motivation for the Germany legionnaire, especially because the World Cup will be held in Germany. “I’m already keen on a World Cup. That’s why it hurts a lot now, it’s extremely bitter because I haven’t played a World Cup for a long time.” The last one was five years ago. “Luckily I’ve already played one or two.” And at the age of 28, I still have the opportunity to play in other big tournaments.

Confidence

Bilyk stayed in Vienna during the preparation tournament in Poland and will therefore not travel to Croatia. It’s possible that he’ll arrive at short notice and keep his fingers crossed as a fan. How would he replace himself if he could give advice to his colleagues? “They’ll do it without me,” the Kiel native is convinced. “We play team sports, so players are always missing and opportunities arise for others who then take on responsibility. We’re only successful as a team anyway, so it’s not enough if just one or two games work.”

Bilyk believes in his colleagues and has a lot of confidence in them. “We have a group that is definitely doable.” Of course the hit against France is a highlight, but the important games are on the program right from the start. Against Kuwait and Qatar. “Then we’ll see where we stand.”

Former team player and handball TV expert Conny Wilczynski also has clear expectations despite Bilyk’s failure: “Austria simply has to get into the main round because we have the quality to do so even without Niko.”

Rehab instead of the World Cup

The motto for Bilyk is now: rehab instead of the World Cup. A small consolation is the fact that the next big tasks are already waiting in March. Austria meets Germany in the European Championship qualifiers in Vienna, in the Vienna Capitals ice hockey arena. This is followed by the games against Switzerland and Turkey. “That was also a topic in my rehab, how much risk I should take with regard to the spring.”

Austria’s team players point out in unison that an exceptional talent like Mykola Bilyk cannot be replaced one-to-one. At the same time, they encourage themselves by looking into the past. Before the successful European Championship 2024 with eighth place, Austria played a tournament in Tunisia without the ailing star and cut a good figure in the test canter.

This week’s four-nation tournament in Poland, with a win against Tunisia and defeats against Poland and Japan, revealed the problems of replacing a star in the collective.