German handball players set their sights on Olympic gold

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Cairo (dpa) - As soon as the World Cup mission of the German handball players had failed, Bob Hanning called out the next big goal in his usual shrill outfit.

"I am convinced that we will play for Olympic gold," said the Vice President of the German Handball Federation, unimpressed by the early exit at the World Cup in Egypt.

"I don't see why we should correct this goal."

Sports director Axel Kromer also believes in the possibility of a big comeback at the Olympic Games despite missing the World Cup quarter-finals: "We know that we can beat any team in the world if we are fully occupied and in top form," he said on Sunday.

"As a result, we are sticking to the goal and are immensely happy when the goal is achieved."

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Alfred Gislason, who was torn in his feelings, did not want to switch to attack mode quite so quickly.

In the sumptuous lobby of the posh team hotel in Cairo you could see the national coach smiling on Sunday, but most of the time he looked pretty serious.

"I'm still annoyed today that we didn't win the Spain game and didn't draw against Hungary," said the Icelander.

“It's a mixed feeling.

That annoys me every hour. "

The former coach of the record champions THW Kiel, who is used to success, struggles with the early tournament exit.

On the other hand, he also knows that setbacks were programmed after nine World Cup cancellations.

“Of course, there is still a slight disappointment.

I was hoping that we could solve our defense problems better.

But still compliments to the team.

We did a lot of things well, ”said the 61-year-old before the final main round match against Poland on Monday (8.30 p.m. / ARD).

The clear 31:24 win against Brazil on Saturday evening was ultimately meaningless because Hungary and Spain had already booked the two tickets for the quarter-finals before kick-off and thus dashed the already faint hopes of the DHB selection for a handball miracle.

Nevertheless, the German team showed a concentrated performance.

"We also have the eagle on our chest, that's why we wanted to go out here with a win," said captain Uwe Gensheimer.

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The day after, Gislason was already looking ahead.

In mid-March, the DHB selection in Berlin against Sweden, Slovenia and Algeria is about the ticket to the summer games in Tokyo.

«The qualifying tournament will not be easy.

But I'm optimistic that what we've done here can help us, ”said the national coach.

Because despite all the criticism of the early World Cup, there were also some bright spots in the newly formed DHB team.

"For players like Johannes Golla, Philipp Weber or Timo Kastening, the tournament was extremely important in order to function better at higher hierarchical levels," said Hanning.

Gislason also saw many good approaches.

“What the boys have achieved in this short time is very impressive.

There are tactics that took me months to develop in Kiel that are now running pretty smoothly with the team, ”he stated with satisfaction.

"We have now created a certain basic framework that will also help us in March."

The national coach is now faced with the task of forming a powerful squad from the World Cup squad and the top performers who stayed at home.

"When we have everyone on board then we have a team that can be really good," he said.

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Gislason is firmly planning a return of the Kiel trio Hendrik Pekeler, Patrick Wiencek and Steffen Weinhold, who voluntarily renounced the World Cup due to the Corona crisis and was sharply criticized by goalkeeper Andreas Wolff.

"I will of course talk to the guys from Kiel, whether they still have any reservations or whether they - just like me - know Andreas Wolff well enough that such statements are made," announced sports director Kromer.

Wolff, who only sat in the stands against Brazil, was like Gensheimer one of the big World Cup losers in the German team.

But he will be back on Monday against Poland if the DHB selection is looking for a conciliatory World Cup.

Gislason made his protégés compulsory to win: "To be honest, that would be very important to me."

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210124-99-149796 / 2