The 2nd Handball Bundesliga season starts in Germany these days. That might not necessarily be of international significance. But this time everything is different. Not only Bietigheim, Dormagen or Großwallstadt are playing, but also Motor Zaporizhzhya, the reigning Ukrainian champions. Head coach Gintaras Savukynas knows about the special task: “Of course, the boys are always in contact with their families and they know what is going on in the country and they are worried.”
The players alternate daily between training sessions in Düsseldorf and worried calls to their relatives back home. Oleksandr Kasai is a left winger – for him the “new league” is a welcome change: “Sport helps me at this moment because you concentrate on your training. Sometimes the mind relaxes, some days. But unfortunately there are also situations when you can’t think about home. “
The handball club HK Motor Zaporizhzhya starts as guests in the 2nd Handball Bundesliga. How will the Ukrainian champions perform in sporting terms? https://t.co/K5Lx4nKycb Handball 2Bundesliga
– Sportschau (@sportschau) August 30, 2022
Handball – away from war and the threat of nuclear catastrophe. The banks of the Rhine instead of the Dnieper. Düsseldorf is 2,000 kilometres away. And yet the first game against Dormagen perhaps feels a bit like a home game.