The Hungarian men’s national handball team has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics after beating Portugal 30–27 in the qualifiers in Tatabánya, Hungary. Bence Imre, the right winger from Ferencvárosi TC, led the way for the home side on the court, scoring nine goals during the night. Apart from Imre, László Bartucz in goal also gave an outstanding performance.
The game was tied at halftime 16–16, and just 10 minutes before the final buzzer, Portugal was up 22–24. However, thankfully, our boys pulled through and managed to turn the game around in the final minutes.
Thus, Hungary finished second in the four-team qualifying group, behind Norway but ahead of Portugal and Tunisia, and thus made the cut among the 12 men’s handball teams in the Summer Olympics.
Head coach Chema Rodriguez had this to say about the great success:
‘It is very hard to say anything after a victory like this. We started really well. Afterwards, however, we were not fighting like we can, so the Portuguese got back into the game. We had many problems in the second half, but these guys have shown incredible strength in the end. Sticking together was the key. I hope the country is very proud of the boys, it is incredible what they have achieved,’ as quoted by the Hungarian sports daily Nemzeti Sport.
Meanwhile, State Secretary for Sports Ádám Schmidt told the same paper: ‘It is really a special feeling when a great dream becomes a reality,’ and thanked the Hungarian government and the fans for their support.
This is going to be the first time our men’s handball team has made an appearance at the Olympics since 2012 in London, United Kingdom. Then, they ended up finishing fourth, just shy of a medal. Hungary is yet to win a medal in men’s handball at the games. Their best result is fourth place, which they achieved a total of five times in the past: in 1936, 1980, 1988, 2004, and, as we wrote above, 2012.
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