Portuguese about Lithuanian women’s handball: the future – bright

There was one step missing

Our country’s handball players failed to repeat the historical achievement and, after more than 30 years, enter the World Cup final tournament.

One step was missing to the dream: Lithuanians lost the decisive selection match (26:35 – in the floor and 30:29 – Jonava) for the Faroe Islands team.

« After failure, guests were very keen to rehabilitate on our pitch. In Jonava we did not avoid mistakes, but they were much less. We grow, improve and grow. ”

During the competition with the Faroe Islands, the average age of our handbags was barely 22.5 years.

G. Pilkauskaitė, who won nineteen goals in two matches and another starting seven player Agnė Gudlinkytė-nineteen-year-old, Singrida Kulikovaitė, Vakarė Damulevičiūtė, Martyna Utilaitė and Gerda Kairytė-20 years.

Sniper: G. Pilkauskaitė scored a total of 29 goals during the four World Cup selection match. / Photo by Handinis.lt

New challenges – October

The Lithuanian team missed the generation of generations in 2023. The World Cup qualifying tournament and for almost a year and a half was without international competitions. For two seasons, the women’s handball clubs in our country did not participate in the European Cup tournaments.

The 23-year-old captain Aušra Arciševskaya, the 23-year-old team, emphasized the importance of international experience.

« Many mistakes have been driven by stress. Some players have even suffered shock by entering the full arena in the floor … A match with stronger and even more fans supported by teams, » said Arcishhevskaya, a Polish club Piotrcovia.

2025 Lithuanians started the world championship selection round in Šiauliai, where they defeated the British team 37:23 and beat the Greek national team 25:24.

The team led by H. Silva did not suffer any loss. In the European Championship qualifying tournament in Bulgaria, 39: 8 crushed Malta and Bulgarians broke 27:23.

In the 5th group of the second round of the European Championship in October, ours will meet with Swedes, Serbs and Ukrainians.

Some players even experienced shock by entering the full arena.

The promising generation is growing

-Coach, Lithuanian handball players’ World Championship Finals, participated in the only time in 1993. The national team was then based on the titled players who won the European Cup with the Egle of Vilnius. Now there are many young athletes on the team. Weren’t expectations against the duel with the Faroe Islands team too big?

– I sincerely hoped we could win this match. It was a confrontation between equal teams, and the scales of success were weighed by age and experience. Most Lithuanians are just starting their careers and learning, ”said Silva. – However, in Jonava, we have shown that our potential is promising.

-The Faroe Islands women and men’s teams played in the 2024 European Championship final tournaments, and the country’s handball players also entered the World Cup final. What could Lithuania learn from the Farmers?

– To achieve such results, the Faroe Islands worked hard. There are as many people as the sixth largest city in Lithuania, but they have as many as sixteen women’s handball teams – eight in the top league and eight in the second. How many participants in the Lithuanian Championship? Only six teams. Eloquent difference. However, this does not mean that Lithuania cannot reach the level of the Faroe Islands, but here the players, unfortunately, do not earn so far that they can only live in a handbag. However, I see a bright future of Lithuanian women’s handball as a promising generation is growing. There are as many as six players in the main team, who are still able to represent the nineteen -year -old team. In addition, both seventeen -year -olds and nineteen -year -olds will play at the European Championships this summer. It gives hope.

The team

2025 world and 2026. In the European Championship selection competition, the Lithuanian national team represented:

Goalkeepers – Evita Žilionytė and Kotryna Vasiliauskaitė (both – Vilnius « Eglė), players of other positions – Dominyka Andronik, Anna Andronik and Singrida Kulikovaitė (all – Vilnius Capital Tauras), Greta Rinkevičiūtė (Allensbach, Germany), Aušra Arciševskaja Pilkauskaitė, Mija Paulauskaitė, Gabija Nievaitė and Rita Rakauskienė (all-« Eglė »), Gerda Kairytė (Frankfurter, Germany), Martyna Utilaitė (Kaunas District Cascada-Garliava), Amelija Selivončikaitė and Agnė Gudlinkytė Vipers, Germany), Dovilė Mižutytė and Greta Vainorytė (both – Klaipeda Dragūnas).