Georgia: The Georgian national handball team is competing in the final stage of the European Championship for the first time in its history. The team, coached by Tite Kalandadze, is in Group E with Sweden, the Netherlands, Bosnia, and Herzegovina.
The team played its first match on January 12, 2024, against the Netherlands in Manheim, Germany. Despite a valiant effort, the team lost 29-34 to the Dutch side. However, the team had a standout performance from Giorgi Mishavidze, who scored nine goals and was named the match’s best player.
The team’s next match will be on January 13, 2024, against the current European champion, Sweden, who won their first match against Bosnia and Herzegovina 32-25. In their final group match, the team will face Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 15, 2024.
The Minister of Culture and Sports, Thea Tsulukiani, attended the first match of the Georgian team and expressed her support and pride for the players. Irakli Medzmariashvili, the President of the Handball Federation of Georgia, Vakhtang Meipariani, the Vice President of the Federation, and Levan Salukvadze, the Secretary General of the Federation, accompanied her.
After finishing second in their qualification group, the Georgian handball team qualified for the European Championship, behind Romania and ahead of Italy and Kosovo. The team hopes to make a strong impression at the continental level and inspire more young people to participate in the Georgia sport.
The social media users wished all the volleyball players good luck. They expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the whole team.
One person, Beso Lomsadze, on Facebook writes, “Good luck to all the volleyball players. So in sports, teams have achieved so much success in rugby, basketball, and now volleyball. When will football be saved when.”
Another Social media user, Vladimir Bozhadze, writes, “Victory and success guys.”
