Turkey's Women's Handball Team Prepares for the European Championship

Turkey's women's national handball team will compete at the 17th European Women's Handball Championship, held from 3 to 20 December in Türkiye, Poland, Romania, Czechia and Slovakia. The matches in the Turkish leg will be played in Antalya from 3 to 7 December.

In Group C matches in Antalya, the national team will face Greece on 3 December, Denmark on 5 December and Spain on 7 December. Head coach David Ginesta Montes said they were pleased with the two intensive training camps over the roughly one and a half month preparation period. Montes noted that having experienced players and young players together has produced positive results.

Montes said the team is going through a generational change and that good progress has been made in bringing young players into the squad. Stressing that playing in front of their own fans will be an additional motivation for the team, Montes said they will take the court to win every match. Pointing out that Denmark are the European champions, the coach said they will act with realistic goals but will do their best.

Team captain Nurceren Akgün Göktepe said the friendly matches against Ukraine and Iran were productive in identifying the team's shortcomings and improving understanding among the players. Göktepe said it is hugely significant for Türkiye to host the tournament and stated that their goal in the first match is a win against Greece. She said they hope to build on their first appearance at the European Championship in 2024 with this second participation.