Handball: Austria is gaining momentum for the big European Championships

The focus these days is on getting the national team into competition mode. “We only have a few days until the start of the preliminary round,” reminds Iker Romero that he only has a short amount of time. After the friendly international match against the Czech Republic on January 6th, the national team was bid farewell the next day by Sports State Secretary Michaela Schmidt, and on January 8th they moved to Paris, where the team met France in the four-nation tournament on January 9th and then tested against either Iceland or Slovenia on January 11th. On January 13th, Austria takes off towards Herning.

This time Mykola Bilyk from THW Kiel is taking part in a major event. He had to keep his fingers crossed for last year’s World Cup due to a long-term thigh injury in front of the television. Bilyk will leave Germany in the summer and move from Kiel to Lucerne in the Swiss league. “After ten years in Kiel, which were really unbelievable for me, it’s time to do something new and try something new,” said the 29-year-old.

Move to Lucerne

HC Kriens-Luzern is working on its future, wants to play at the absolute top level nationally and internationally and is bringing the most suitable players to Kriens. They had already signed an ÖHB star, Lukas Herburger, and then they were able to announce another sensational transfer in Mykola Bilyk.

“I’m really looking forward to playing with Herby and spending more time with him privately. That’s a nice little gift. The Kriens-Luzern project convinced me that they want to grow in the next few years and also want to prove themselves internationally,” said Bilyk.

Lukas Herburger is now completing his fifth European Championship. In any case, he made history with the Füchse Berlin, which he will leave in the summer, winning the first championship title in the club’s history in 2025 and also reaching the final of the Champions League.

In Lucerne, the 31-year-old won’t have to go far to his home town of Bregenz. “I’m a family man. It was certainly also a reason that I can see my family more often. Lucerne would like to finally overthrow Schaffhausen from their throne and win the championship title.”