Handball: Olympic qualification: 16 years waiting time: Handball players want to go back to the Olympics

The appeal of the Olympics has been increasingly doubted in recent times. The image of an elite power circle that supposedly fills its own pockets without any sense of financial, social or ecological sustainability has become too widespread. Even athletes are no longer immune to criticism of the current form of the games.

But the dream of taking part in the Olympics hasn’t lost any of its appeal for them. All the broken bones and shed tears of joy, whether from hockey or basketball players who recently qualified for the Summer Games in Paris, clearly showed this. The German handball players want to follow suit from Thursday, and they too can hardly wait.

“The Olympics are a dream for all athletes: the big stage on which all athletes from all countries come together,” said cyclist Julia Behnke in Neu-Ulm, describing her mood before the four-day qualifying tournament. Backcourt player Emily Bölk still has a small family advantage: »My mother was there twice. I grew up with their stories. But unfortunately I only know Olympia from stories.«

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In fact, a whole generation of German handball players have had to do without the games since they last took part in 2008. But now there is great hope that it will finally work again. »Just thinking about the Olympics gives me goosebumps. We all really want to fulfill the dream,” said Bölk on Tuesday.

At the start the Germans meet Slovenia. Montenegro follows on Saturday before celebrating a must-win against outsiders Paraguay on Sunday. The two best teams will receive the last tickets for Paris. The Slovenians narrowly missed the quarter-finals at the 2023 World Cup. Montenegro came seventh, the Germans sixth. In this respect, the hosts are the favorites, but participation in the Olympics is far from certain.

The German Handball Federation (DHB) team has the greatest respect for Slovenia’s Ana Gros. »She is one of the most feared backcourt shooters in Europe. She can decide games all by herself,” warned national coach Markus Gaugisch, who has been preparing the team specifically for the Slovenians since Monday. The DHB selection had previously gained self-confidence with sweeping victories over Ukraine and Israel. But now they have to expect more resistance.

The only bad news last week was the injury to playmaker Alina Grijseels. According to Gaugisch, the recovery of her ankle is progressing “from hour to hour. But we won’t see until the day of the game whether it’s enough.” Even without the agile backfield manager, the national coach had developed options, he said, but Gaugisch will be reluctant to replace Grijseels.

Basically, you can never plan exactly how things will turn out, »but our fans can expect that we will do everything we can to be successful. It’s the highlight we’ve all been working towards,” said Gaugisch. He has never experienced a training session with this team where he left unsatisfied: “I never had to question the players’ attitude.”

Even goalkeeper Dinah Eckerle has just returned from her maternity leave to qualify for the Olympics. After all, the Olympics are “the greatest thing you can achieve. We haven’t been there for a long time, so it’s high time to buy the ticket,” said the 28-year-old, who believes that “a certain level of closeness to the family” is extremely important. The DHB even wants to rent her an extra hotel room in the future so that her husband and child can always be there. “You can’t just talk about promoting women’s sports, you also have to do something about it,” said DHB President Andreas Michelmann, explaining the measure, which will also be offered to other mothers in the future.

The DHB has taken up the cause of promoting its women’s department, which has been somewhat neglected for a long time. Successful Olympic qualification would also help with the project. Ultimately, the association can then count on a higher funding amount from the federal government. In addition, the greater media visibility at the Olympics should help the sport of handball attract more young talent.

In contrast to the last international championships, the tournament in Neu-Ulm will be broadcast on free TV. After the opening game on Thursday (5.45 p.m.) on Sport1, the decision will be made on the weekend in the main ARD program. For Michelmann, who recently repeatedly criticized the lack of TV broadcasts, “a strong signal for women’s sport.” And possibly the beginning of new Olympic dreams for some very young handball players.

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