Ivano Balic: My Back Hurts, But I Will Play

All Croatian handball players can hardly wait for the start of the World Handball Championship, Balic said.

Croatian handball team player Ivano Balic said on Thursday, a day before the start of the World Handball Championship in Croatia, that he still feels pain in his back, but all pain is forgotten once the competition starts. He is ready to play.

- I am in pain at the moment, the pain is constant. The tougher the strain, the greater the pain. But, once you start playing, you forget about the pain – Balic told reporters. One of the best handball players in the world emphasised that he was especially pleased to be playing in front of his home audience in Split.

- There are not many top players who can play at such big competitions like the world championship, in front of their audience in their hometown – Balic said. He pointed out that all Croatian team members can hardly wait for the championship to start.

Their first opponent will be South Korea. Balic called them “unpleasant”, adding the Croatian squad has to play its game. According to Balic, powerful support from the audience will be especially needed during the match against South Korea in the first 10 minutes, because this is the first match of the competition.

Against Kuwait and Cuba – easy

Apart from South Korea, the squad will play four more matches in Split during the first leg of the World Handball Championship: against Kuwait, Cuba, Spain and Sweden. Balic said Kuwait and Cuba were somewhat easier opponents.

- The Spanish team traditionally plays well at tournaments. They have a new coach at this competition and more new players, so we will see what this looks like – Balic said, pointing out about Sweden:

- Sweden has changed its game style. Nearly all Swedish players play in the German league so they run a lot more while playing for the national team – Balic said.