PARIS — Egypt Handball team edged Hungary, 35-32, in a tightly contested match during group play in men’s handball at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Two Spanish coaches – Juan Carlos Pastor for Egypt and Chema Rodriguez for Hungary – with two efficient teams, but somehow different gameplans, surely influenced by Spanish handball, met in the second match of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a crucial one between the African champions and Hungary, a team which always fights until the end.
But it was Egypt which started the match better, in a hectic first half, which saw the two teams combine for 34 goals, with a fantastic pace, great rhythm, and a lot of goals scored, much to the excitement of the over 5.700 fans present in the South Paris Arena 6.
For Hungary there were jitters and nerves, because their start was underpar, leaving Egypt on the cusp of a 7:3 lead, thanks to a pair of goals from Mohamed Sanad.
But Hungary bounced back and cut the lead to a single goal, 7:6, with a 3:0 unanswered run, that seemed to bring Rodriguez’s side back into the match.
However, the European side collapsed in the middle part of the first half, which saw Egypt fire from all cylinders and deliver a 7:1 run, with plenty of fast breaks, but also goals from right back Yahia Omar and line player Ahmed Adel, which saw the African champions secure a seven-goal lead, 14:7, leaving Hungary dumbfounded.
Egypt, which finished fourth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, secured a win in their opener at Paris 2024, 35:32, throwing off their campaign in style, while Hungary will now lament that loss and try to come back in two days, against Argentina.
Yehia Elderaa was ecstatic after Egypt delivered a winning start to their campaign at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with a fantastic performance against Hungary, 35:32. Egypt had it all: strength, grit, speed and focus in the decisive moments, to clear their way to another knockout phase berth.
“I hope the fans, our fans, they are happy, I wish we lived up to their expectations. We need their support. It’s just one step, we still have a lot of steps ahead of us. But it means a lot, it means they believe in us, and I feel Egypt needs something to make them happy,” Elderaa said.
Elderaa made his debut at the Olympics when he was only 21 years old, when Egypt finished ninth at Rio 2016. Five years later, at Tokyo 2020, the centre back was instrumental in his side’s best-ever performance in the competition, as the African champions ended up on the fourth place, missing out on a medal by the slightest of margins, conceding a loss in the bronze medal match against Spain.
That loss fueled Egypt’s fire, as the African powerhouse became better and better, finishing seventh at the IHF Men’s World Championship in 2021 and 2023, conceding a loss on penalties against world champions Denmark in 2021 in the quarter-finals.
“There are no words to describe that feeling but in the end, looking back, we lost to Spain and some of their players retired after this tournament. It was maybe the first Olympic medal for a lot of their players. You’re sad for sure, you want to cry but we still have years to go, we believe in ourselves and we are going to come back stronger. We are here and hopefully the medal is ours next time,” says Elderaa.
After the win against Hungary, the centre back spoke at length about the process which started a few years ago, when Roberto Garcia Parrondo was named the coach of Egypt men’s national handball team. Garcia Parrondo spent four years leading Egypt, between 2019 and 2023, before he decided to return to Europe and coach MT Melsungen, in the German Bundesliga.
Another Spanish coach, Juan Carlos Pastor, took over, and Egypt look to be the same powerhouse, a very strong team, with a fantastic core, an experienced back line and some pacy wingers, plus excellent line players and goalkeepers, becoming one of the hardest teams to beat in men’s handball.
“It is all about the team, it is about the family, it is about feeling each other, believing in each other, trusting the process. We might have lost some matches, but we trusted the process. Us, as a team, we challenge each other. I challenge my teammates, I challenge my brother [Seif, who is also in the Egypt team], I challenge everyone to be better and to fight even more,” Elderaa said.
But can Egypt finally make the step further and deliver a medal in a major international competition, their first one in history?
“Winning, losing, you have to keep trusting the process, playing the same way until the end and in the end God will give you what you deserve. So maybe it’s our time now, it’s the time of the year that us, through handball, are making the country happy,” added Elderaa.
Egypt played a fantastic match against Hungary, with Elderaa scoring six goals and assisting five others, basically a third of Egypt’s total number of goals, while spending 58 minutes and 28 seconds on the court.
It was also a special match for the centre back, who has been playing against plenty of his teammates, old and current – Patrik Ligetvari, Adrian Sipos, Zoran Ilie or Mate Lekai – from his club side, ONE Veszprem, where he has been plying his trade since 2022.
“We’re always teammates, we’re always teammates, we’re family, playing against each other. It’s not rivalry, it’s challenging each other. So it was a pleasure and I am really happy we got to play against them, we have been preparing for a whole month for this match, a very gard month, but it was an amazing feeling to start the Olympics with a win,” concludes Elderaa.
It was a crucial win for the Pharaohs, which will now face the reigning world champions, Denmark, and the reigning Olympic champions, France, in the next two matches of the preliminary round, before they end their stint in the South Paris Arena 6 against Norway and Argentina.
But as Elderaa says, maybe it is time to make Egypt – a handball-mad country – happy once again with some performance. The start, at least, was truly encouraging.
