London in hype ahead of the Olympic Games

The Hungarian handball team of Alcoa FKC recently visited Great Britain for common training with the British National Team. Whilst training together at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, the two teams met for some test matches to help coach Jesper Holmris' team with its final preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games in London.

Alcoa FKC's club manager Zoltán Kynsburg talked to ehf-euro.com about the team's co-operation with the Great Britain National Team and his impressions of the visit and London in general ahead of the start of the Olympic Games.

ehf-euro.com: You spent four days in London, training and playing test games against the Great Britain team. How did this invitation come about?

Zoltán Kynsburg: Jesper Holmris, head-coach of the British National Team used to coach SK Aarhus and participated at a summer tournament in Székesfehérvár about five years ago. Since then, we have been in regular contact. So, when Jesper took over this position at British Handball, we started to make plans of how we could be involved in their Olympic Program. Finally, we managed to realize these plans. It was a big honour for us that we could contribute to the preparation of the British National Team.

ehf-euro.com: How pleased are you with the hosts‘ hospitality and training facilities ahead of the Olympic Games?

Zoltán Kynsburg: The Crystal Palace National Sports Centre was a very convenient venue: the sports hall is great, the accommodation is just next to the hall, and the complex in surrounded by a beautiful park. We enjoyed the tour very much; it was a kind of bonus, a real highlight for the whole team after a demanding season in the very competitive Hungarian Championship.

ehf-euro.com: Have you visited the Olympic Centre? If yes, what were your impressions?

Zoltán Kynsburg: Originally, we planned to visit the British team in early April, between the regular season and the play-offs of our league. At that time, we could have visited and played in the Olympic Handball Arena, but this opportunity was not available after May 5. We only saw the Olympic facilities from the bus, but it was pretty impressive though!

ehf-euro.com: Alcoa FKC played two matches against Great Britain, what were your impressions about GB´s performance? 

Zoltán Kynsburg: The playing time was 3x25 minutes in both matches, to enable the British Team to give plenty of opportunity to all of their players. It’s really amazing what Jesper and Vigdis have achieved in these four years since they started the project. 

They‘ve managed to develop a very compact team with some classy individuals who are in very good physical condition. I hope British Handball will have the possibility to keep this program going after the Olympic Games, as a new market with a strong National Team would be a boost for European women handball in general.

ehf-euro.com: The Olympic Games will kick off in less than two months. What signs did you see in the city about preparations for the big event?

Zoltán Kynsburg: London seems to be in a state of hype because of two big events actually: the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games. One of my friends living in London told us that people are already worried about how boring it will be after these events are over…

GB Women preparing for Montenegro challenge

SOME tickets are still available for the EHF EURO 2012 clash between Great Britain Women and Montenegro at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre on Wednesday. (30 May)

The penultimate match of Great Britain’s qualifying campaign, it will provide the team with vital top-level match experience ahead of this summer’s London Olympics.

The team has played Holland twice in friendly fixtures recently as well as Hungarian and Danish domestic teams, which will have given the team an edge which could help them give Montenegro a run for their money in Wednesday’s match, which begins at 7pm.

Prior to the match, the draw for the Olympic handball tournament will take place with officials from the International Handball Federation, London 2012 and Team GB present to oversee proceedings.
 

Further Information

Find more information on the Women's EHF EURO 2012 Qualification HERE.

View more detailed information on the event on the Official EHF EURO 2012 Website.
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