News

The Macedonian senior national team delivered a strong performance at the 29th World Championship held in Croatia, Norway, and Denmark.

Our national team finished among the world’s top 16, securing 15th place, and once again captured the hearts of handball fans with their relentless fighting spirit, uncompromising mentality, improved quality of play, and a more modern approach to the game.

Macedonia notched two wins, two draws, and two losses at the World Championship. We triumphed over Guinea (29-20) and Qatar (39-34), while holding favoured Hungary (27-27) and Austria (29-29) to draws. The only matches where we failed to pick up points were a somewhat controversial defeat to the Netherlands (32-37) and a loss to the world’s Top 4 national team, France (25-32).

The Macedonian national team played consistently at a high level throughout all six matches, showing significant improvement compared to previous tournaments. This was a clear sign that this almost completely revamped and youthful squad, led by head coach Kiril Lazarov and his experienced staff, is on the rise and already achieving top results.

HC Alkaloid, as a handball project focused on giving Macedonian players the chance to progress and develop into elite athletes through high-quality training and competition, played a key role in this overall success.

HC Alkaloid’s head coach, Kiril Lazarov, along with his assistants Biljana Crvenkoska and Ninoslav Pavelikj, fitness coach Petar Basnarkov, and physiotherapist Toshe Trajkovski, were all part of the coaching staff for the Macedonian national team.

Among the 18 players who took the court in the six matches of World Championship preliminary and main rounds were HC Alkaloid athletes: Marko Kizikj, Ivan Galevski, Ivan Djonov, Marko Mitev, Igor Gjorgiev, Martin Serafimov, Martin Velkovski, Aleksandar Petkovski, Nikola Markoski, Marko Stojkovikj, and Valentin Karasmanakis. HC Alkaloid takes great pride in these 11 players, who each, in their own way, represented the Macedonian national team with unwavering dedication. Their contributions, both on and off the court, played a major role in the team’s success and in promoting Macedonia with pride on the global handball stage.