Aleksandre Kebadze

Georgia hands Bosnia another defeat, nears European Championship

Some things just never change. Georgian Handball National team handled Bosnia second loss in a row in a span of few weeks. Georgia, this time as a visitor, beat Bosnia in an away game 22:20 in the qualifying of the European Championship.

This was the second clash between these two rivals, as Georgia took the first one, held in Tbilisi on March 13th, 28:26. This one was fierce from start to finish. Georgia had a slim lead from the start and had a 12:10 advantage at a break.

Nothing changed in the second half. Georgia was controlling the game with confidence and held on to take the game. This is a huge step towards qualifying for the European Championships as our team now sits in the second place. Iceland (33:21 win over Greece) is the leader with 8 points, while Georgia has 4. Bosnia and Greece each has 2 points. Iceland has officially qualified for the Euroforum.

The Man of the match for Georgia was the team captain Teimuraz Orjonikidze with 6 goals, while Giorgi Dikhaminjia nd and Giorgi Tskhovrebadze each scored 5. It was well balanced team effort, that Bosnia was not able t overcome. Georgia defended well and never lost the control of the game.

Georgia has two more games ahead. First, Greece comes to Tbilisi on May 8th and we conclude the qualifying with a battle in Iceland on May 11th. Georgia deserves to be among Handball elite and is eager to do so. For the last couple of years, our team has progressed in the international rankings as well and is set to be prepared well for any given test at this stage.

These games against Bosnia showed the team spirit of our National team, as well as some individual craftiness of our young stars. They are determined to give the country well deserved qualification for the Eurobattles and the sky is the limit  for this team. There still is some areas to improve, but step by step, Georgia moves well in the confidence standings.

Iceland was the favorite and the rest is a good challenge for our team.

We wait until the next two tests arrive.