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19, respectively) in odd years – always
in addition to the International Handball
Federation’s (IHF) Youth and Junior
World Championships.
There has been not change to the fact
that these YAC tournaments basically offer
a glimpse of the future of handball. This aspect
alone would fill volumes. The Russian
left wing Emilia Turey, for example, provided
a sample of her great potential in 2002,
when she was elected as a member of the
all-star team in the Junior European Championship.
The same year, the Men’s Junior
European Championship All-star team included
back Karol Bielecki (POL), goalkeeper
Boris Ristovski (MD) and the Slovene
players David Spiler and Matjaz Brumen, all
of whom continued to be key handball figures
in their respective countries for many
years to come.
In the Women’s 19 European Championship,
left back Karolina Kudlacz from Poland
was the pre-eminent player. One year
on, in the Women’s17 European Championship
2005, Allison Pineau from France
excelled as playmaker. Another year on,
the Men’s 20 European Championship in
Innsbruck showcased an exceptional vintage
of players: MVP Zarko Sesum (SRB)
was fast-tracked into professional handball
along with All Stars Mikkel Hansen, Henrik
Toft Hansen (both DEN), Martin Strobel,
Uwe Gensheimer (both GER), Ivan Cupic
from Croatia and the Swedish goalkeeper
Johan Sjöstrand.
In 2007, the Women’s 17 European
Championship whisked Norwegian right
back Nora Mørk right onto the stage of
world handball followed, one year later, in
the U18 tournament in Brno, by the German
right back Steffen Fäth and, in the U20
tournament in Romania, the Danish keeper
Niklas Landin Jacobsen. In the Men’s 20
European Championship 2012, finally, the
Spanish right back Alex Dujshebaev and left
back Stipe Mandalinic (CRO) moved into
the limelight.
Among more recent prominent examples
have been the three German Junior
European Champions 2014, Simon Ernst,
Jannik Kohlbacher and Fabian Wiede, who
only two years later won the Men’s 12th
EHF EURO in Poland. In the same year, the
most outstanding high-potential of Austrian
handball, Nikola Bilyk, was voted MVP at
the Men‘s 18 European Championship.
A glance at the All Star nominations of
recent events shows that these provided
reason for joy mostly for Russian and
French fans, but also for supporters of Portugal
and Denmark. The French, for example,
may regard the All Star nominations
of Ludovic Fabregas and Melvin Richardson
(son of Jackson) in the Men’s 18 European
Championship 2014 as a promise of a
bright future. Among the female talent, the
Russians Elizaveta Malashenko (MVP W17
European Championship 2013) and Anna
Vyakhireva (MVP W19 European Championship
2013) caught the public’s eye along
with Portuguese player Monica Sores, the
top scorer of the Women’s 19 European
Championship 2013.
It would only be logical to expect that
these players, who took their first steps on
the big international stage in EHF YAC tournaments,
will evolve into eminent handball
personalities at the senior level in the
near future. And, who knows, there may be
another future world-class player among
them...
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