Hosts Lithuania start strong at Women’s 17 EHF Championship

Following on from the success of the Women’s 17 EHF Championship in FYR Macedonia which finished earlier this month, Klaipeda in Lithuania is hosting the second tournament of the competition, which lasts until 20 August.

The full playing schedule can be found HERE and watched live on ehfTV.

After a welcoming ceremony from the hosts, the Women’s 17 EHF Championship in Lithuania threw off on 14 August with three days of action so far as teams battle it out to secure themselves a spot in the Women's 17 and 19 EHF EURO events in 2019, with the winning nation in Lithuania promoted from the Championship to the EHF EURO level in two years’ time.

PRELIMINARY ROUND
14-16 August

Group A

After three matchdays in Group A, and with not all teams having played three times yet, Portugal top the group on four points, followed by Turkey and Belarus (three points), Italy (two) and Georgia (zero).

Italy and Georgia have played three matches so far as the Portuguese sit clear at the top after an opening 43:19 win over Italy followed up by a 48:11 victory against the Georgians.

Turkey and Belarus are both on three points after they drew their encounter 37:37 on the second matchday, after winning their opening matches with Turkey beating Georgia 45:20 and Belarus beating Italy 22:20.  he two bottom sides played yesterday with Italy emerging clear winners, 38:16.

Group B

Home fans had to wait until the second matchday to see their team in action and they opened in style, restricting Latvia to just three first-half goals in their 42:12 (21:3) victory.

“We prepared well and stayed focused all the match,” said Rusne Markinaite, voted the best player for Lithuania in the game. “We played well but I think we still can play even better as we need to stay focused and keep doing our job.

“Other games probably will be more difficult but it’s good that we started with a win.”

The opening matchday had seen Ukraine beat Latvia 39:14 and the Finnish side beat Great Britain 36:18.

The second day also saw Ukraine in action again, beating the British side 35:18, but, in their third match in three days GB won 29:22 against Latvia, while home fans could celebrate again as they beat Finland 26:19.

The results mean Ukraine and Lithuania share top spot in the group with four points, Finland and Great Britain are on two points and Latvia are rooted to the bottom, without any points.

With 23 goals, Eda Nur Kilic for Turkey is the tournament top-scorer so far. Today is a rest day with the next round of matches on Friday 18 and 19 August. The two winners of the groups go straight into a final on Sunday 20 August.

Follow the Women's 17 EHF Championship - Lithuania

Official website: http://klaipeda2017ehf.com/

Official Facebook (Lithuanian Handball Federation): https://www.facebook.com/lturankinis/

ehfTV: http://www.ehftv.com/int/league/womens-17-ehf-euro-championships-2017/48

Photos: Lithuanian Handball Federation