07.11.2011, 02:24
Russia wins tournament in Gdynia

Although drawing with Poland in the final of the Four Nations Cup, the Sbornaja won the tournament thanks to a better goal difference.

Russia wins tournament in Gdynia

A strong tournament with thrilling matches took place in Gdynia, Poland in preparation for the EHF EURO 2012 in Serbia. Two European Championship participants, Poland and Russia, were joined by Austria and Belarus, and the teams staged high-tensioned games to the joy of thousands of spectators.

Despite missing top goalkeeper Slawomir Szmal and also Mariusz Jurkiewicz, the Poles gave Russia a hard fight, and an interesting struggle developed in the final, where outcome wasn’t clear until the dying seconds.

The rivalry between the two top nations brought lots of emotion, but also a bitter taste for the hosts at the end, as Russia only won the tournament thanks to better goal difference.

Goalkeeper Szmal had complained of knee problems before the match, whilst Jurkiewicz was out due to a hematoma on the thigh.

For the Russians, Sergej Shelmenko played for the first time in the Russian jersey, and so coach Vladimir Maksimov could count on all of his players from Chekhov. In addition, he also had Barcelona player Konstantin Igropulo in the squad, who not only became the top scorer of the final with nine goals, but also amassed a grand total 22 goals during the three matches.

The best players of the match were Russia´s Oleg Grams and Poland´s Grzegorz Tkaczyk.

Two years ago, the Russians also won a similar tournament in Poland when the team was led by former head coach Nikolai Chigarev.

Against the Sbornaja, Polish coach Bogdan Wenta had hoped to improve the attacking efficiency and reduce the errors his side produced in the games against Austria and Belarus.

Wenta summed up the three matches: "The tournament has helped us a lot to prepare for the European Championship, as we were allowed to try different configurations in our line-up."

Results:

4 November

Russia - Belarus 33:22 (17:10)
Poland - Austria 29:27 (12:12)

5 November

Austria - Russia 26:33 (14:20)
Poland - Belarus 28:22 (13:11(

6 November

Belarus - Austria 28:31 (14:14)
Poland - Russia 29:29 (18:17)

Further information

Download the Official EHF EURO 2012 Playing Schedule (pdf)

Buy your EHF EURO 2012 tickets HERE.

Ticketing is managed by the Serbian Organising Committees. Should you need further assistance for buying your tickets, please contact via email: tickets@rss.org.rs

Find more information on the tournament on the official website www.ehf-euro.com/SRB2012/

Join the growing community of fans of the event on Facebook www.facebook.com/SRB2012

TEXT: Márk Hegedüs