Slovenian handballers punch ticket for Paris Olympics

The road to Paris for the Slovenian handballers was not easy, as they had to face the hosts of the tournament, Spain, after defeating Brazil 27:26 in the first match of the tournament last Wednesday.

On Friday, Spain easily beat Slovenia 32:22 and the Slovenians then had to beat Bahrain, which they did on Sunday (32:26), but then had to wait the outcome of the Spain-Brazil match to punch the ticket to Paris.

Spain beat Brazil 28:26 to win the tournament and enable Slovenia to take the second place and qualify for what will be the fourth Summer Olympics for the men's national handball team, the most for any team sport in Slovenia's history.

"Slovenia are going to the Olympics. These are the most beautiful moments, but could as well be the most difficult in my career," said Slovenia's captain Jure Dolenec, who was injured in the match against Brazil and could not play yesterday.

"I think that we have earned the spot in the Olympics. Thanks to Spain for doing their job and playing in the spirit of fair play and winning," Dolenec said in reference to Spain not having to win against Brazil to qualify for Paris.

Slovenia's head coach Uroš Zorman said that "I feel very Olympic today", admitting that he cried a little bit at the end. "My congratulations to the lads for this tournament. I think that we have earned it," he added.

Zorman noted that injuries had been a challenge. "It was not easy. Injuries kept piling up and we don't have an endless pool of players to be able to replace such players without any consequences," he said in reference to Dolenc's injury.

The head coach added that the qualification for the Olympics was a great confirmation for Slovenian handball, which was struggling somewhat at the club level. "I hope that this success means that it is worth investing in handball," he said.

The success of the handball team caught the attention of public figures, including President Nataša Pirc Musar, who said on X that it was an "exceptional sports Sunday for Slovenia", congratulating the players on making it to Paris.

With three Olympic qualifying tournaments ending on Sunday, all participants in the Olympics are known. In addition to Slovenia and Spain, the final tournament will feature Croatia, Germany, Norway, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Japan, Argentina, Egypt and the hosts France.

Slovenia will get their opponents in the group stage of the Olympic tournament, to be played from 25 July to 11 August, after the draw that will take place in Paris on 16 April.