“Finally a normal tournament again”. This sentence was often heard in the run-up to the Handball World Championships in Poland and Sweden, which started today. After the past two major tournaments were shaped by the pandemic, there was hope in many places that excessive restrictions would not be imposed this year. But even before that, the coronavirus caused unrest.
On the one hand, because, for example, in the Danish national team, first Simon Pytlick and later Mads Mensah Larsen tested positive. Both cases are probably not related, both players had no symptoms, neither of them is at risk of being used. Nevertheless: Just the memory of the European Championship 2022 and the numerous Covid 19 infections make you sit up and take notice.
So it seems only too understandable that the International Handball Federation (IHF) has exercised caution with its hygiene concept. It seems. Because while the determination of the obligation to vaccinate was generally accepted without much grumbling, the planned testing system and the associated isolation regulations – five days with a positive result – caused displeasure.
The procedure violates human rights, criticized Iceland’s national goalkeeper Björgvin Pall Gustavsson in an open letter and even threatened legal action. The IHF’s answer that the measures are designed to protect the participants did little to calm him down, “since we live here in the hotel, together with other teams, other guests, the staff – and all without masks or other restrictions,” he wrote 37-year-old on Twitter.
The former Bundesliga player received support from Kiel’s Niklas Landin and Lemgo’s Bobby Schagen. The Swede Michael Apelgreen, who is under contract in Mannheim, also expressed his incomprehension: “It’s a shame when you play a World Cup at home and can’t live like we usually do in Sweden.” In both Sweden and Poland, quarantine and other measures have been suspended.
At the German Handball Federation (DHB), those responsible are trying not to overstate the topic. “The regulations are as they are,” said DHB CEO Mark Schober soberly and sports director Axel Kromer added: “I don’t assume that a player has to stay in his room and not go out if he tests positive. We will find solutions there. And it is clear that a player who tests positive does not go to the group breakfast.”
Unlike a year ago in Bratislava, the team is looking forward to working as a team. Don’t eat alone in your room, but use the common room. Not regularly appearing in the game with a surprise effect without knowing who the game is being played with. Don’t be reduced to the hotel and the hall, but be able to explore the city where the tournament is taking place without hesitation, at least with a longer walk.
“I just hope that we will experience a World Cup that is all about handball,” said national coach Alfred Gislason. “We are well on the way to normality.”
It remains to be seen what exactly this normality will look like in the German venue Katowice. On Tuesday, the German selection completed the prescribed PCR test, results can be expected on Wednesday, one day later the entourage sets off for Poland.
It was widely communicated that the Germans, unlike Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Spain and France, were not among the favorites. The anticipation, however, remains unbroken. “We want to show what potential there is in the team and the atmosphere is correspondingly outstanding,” said Gislason – hoping that Corona will only be a side note until the end of the tournament on January 29th.
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Source: Tagesspiegel
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
