The ninth edition of the Masters Handball World Cup was held last week in the beautiful surroundings of the Adriatic coast, in the cities of Omiš and Makarska.
Across ten age categories, 79 teams from 16 countries competed for trophies in a prestigious international field, while once again spreading the glory of the game played on the 40×20 court. From the women’s 30+ category to men over the age of 60 — with the oldest participant being an 80-year-old goalkeeper from Hungary’s MAFC — almost 2,000 participants enjoyed four days of handball, excellent organization and exactly 180 matches played in four sports halls.
The most successful teams of the tournament came from Hungary, which won as many as four gold medals. Two winning trophies each went to Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania. Teams from ten countries won medals and were awarded during a spectacular closing ceremony, where the prizes were presented by two handball legends — two-time EHF Champions League winner Momir Ilić and Athens 2004 Olympic champion Drago Vuković.
The Masters Handball World Cup was officially opened with fitting words from legendary French player Jérôme Fernandez:
“It is always special to be among people who share the same passion for handball. I wish you lots of success and, above all, no injuries,” said the captain of the famous golden generation of French handball.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR2kGGQuJak
The handball project, which brings together people from several continents and was launched in 2017 as an idea of Sport Event agency and Handball-Planet.com, broke all attendance records this year. The satisfaction of the participants remains the most important success:
“The tournament is highly competitive, while the atmosphere created by people from different parts of the world is incredible — and that is what makes MHWC recognizable all over the world. Every year, the tournament improves in certain segments, both on the court and in the accompanying program. We will definitely be back next year,” was the general impression of participants, who this year came from Brazil and Chile, through Egypt, to most European countries, including Denmark for the first time.
Finals
M35
Masters Handball Mielec – Golden Boys Merasport 19:10
W30
Lider – Zgoda Ruda Slaska 12:9
M40
Smarskai – Masters Kielce 17:14
M45
Kauno Ažuolas – PEAC Old Boys 16:9
M50
Budapest Old Boys – Chrobry Glogow 14:12
M55
Budapest Old Boys – Brazukas Hand 15:7
M60
Oldi Szczecin – MAFC Masters 11:6
W40
Kauno Ažuolas – Liberty HT 15:17
W45
Mario-Nett Veszprem – Evergreen 17:8
W50
Pink Magic – Philia Cambe 15:12
Results and Individual Awards
M35
- Masters Handball Mielec (POL)
- Golden Boys Merasport (ROM)
- Prule 67 (SLO)
Individual awards
Top scorer: Adam Babicz (Masters Handball Mielec)
Best goalkeeper: Mariusz Nowak (Masters Handball Mielec)
MVP: Lukasz Nowak (Masters Handball Mielec)
W30
- Lider (UKR)
- Zgoda Ruda Slaska (POL)
- Varenos Ula (LTU)
Individual awards
Top scorer: Zydre Zimmermann (Varenos Ula)
Best goalkeeper: Iryna Lysakova (Lider)
MVP: Anna Samol (Zgoda Ruda Slaska)
M40
- Smarskai (LTU)
- Masters Kielce (POL)
- Budapest Old Boys (HUN)
Individual awards
Top scorer: Laszlo Varga (Budapest Old Boys)
Best goalkeeper: Aivaras Česnulis (Smarskai)
MVP: Arminas Grigenas (Smarskai)
W40
- Liberty Kharkiv (UKR)
- Kauno Ažuolas (LTU)
- No Limits (POL)
Individual awards
Top scorer: Inna Holiardyk (Liberty Kharkiv)
Best goalkeeper: Milena Gorksa (No Limits)
MVP: Valda Šokellene (Liberty Kharkiv)
M45
- Kauno Ažuolas (LTU)
- Last Dance of Pecs Old Boys (HUN)
- Hutnik Krakow (POL)
Individual awards
Top scorer: Renato Neto (Sao Gabriel)
Best goalkeeper: Arvydas Vaitkevičius (Kauno Ažuolas)
MVP: Kestutis Boguševičius (Kauno Ažuolas)
W45
- Mario-Nett Veszprem (HUN)
- Evergreens (SVK)
- ETO XXL (HUN)
Individual awards
Top scorer: Balogh Piorska (Mario-Nett Veszprem)
Best goalkeeper: Zsuzsana Veress (Mario-Nett Veszprem)
MVP: Lenka Minarcikova (Evergreens)
M50
- Budapest Old Boys (HUN)
- Chrobry Glogow (POL)
- Rohdiamanten Bozen (ITA)
Individual awards
Top scorer: Nikolaj Boev (Rohdiamanten Bozen)
Best goalkeeper: Akos Hoffmann (Budapest Old Boys)
MVP: Grzegorz Piotrowski (Chrobry Glogow)
M55
- Budapest Old Boys (HUN)
- Brazukas (BRA)
- Ademar Leon (ESP)
Individual awards
Top scorer: Rodney Savon (Budapest Old Boys)
Best goalkeeper: Dorivao Dos Santos (Brazukas)
MVP: Istvan Pasztor (Budapest Old Boys)
W50
- Pink Magic (HUN)
- Philia Cambe (BRA)
- Csikzereda (ROM)
Individual awards
Top scorer: Marietta Szalai (Pink Magic)
Best goalkeeper: Yara Nobrega (Master Chile)
MVP: Alessandra Barancelli (Philia Cambe)
M60
- Oldi Szczecin (POL)
- MAFC Masters (HUN)
Individual awards
Top scorer: Grzegorz Kaminski (Oldi Szczecin)
Best goalkeeper: Zsolt Szendrei Hernadi (MAFC)
MVP: Donat Czujkowski (Oldi Szczecin)