IBSA Goalball European Championships Podgorica 2023

MEN final
Lithuania vs Ukraine 3:8 (1:3)
 
Lithuania - Mantas Brazauskis, Juozas Eigminas, Arturas Jonikaitis, Nerijus Montvydas, Genrik Pavliukianec and Justas Pažarauskas
 
Ukraine - Vasyl Oliinyk, Anton Strelchyk, Fedir Sydorenko, Oleksandr Toporkov, Yevheniy Tsyhanenko i Rodion Zhyhalin.

The Ukrainian men's goalball team is the new champion of Europe!
Today in Podgorica, in the final match, they triumphed over the reigning champions, team Lithuania, with a resounding 8:3 victory.
 
This marks Ukraine's first title as the champions of Europe for the goalball team, breaking a streak of two consecutive final defeats in previous championships.
 
After an initial setback against Montenegro, Ukraine bounced back with six consecutive victories to claim the coveted trophy.
 
In the final showdown between the two best European teams of recent years, Ukrainian defense proved unbreakable, leaving the offensive oriented Lithuania with no solution.

After initially taking the lead and levelling the score, Ukraine secured a two-goal advantage by halftime (3:1). In the second half, they further extended the lead early on. Despite Lithuania's quality, the outcome was practically decided at that point, sealing Ukraine's victory.
 
The top scorers in the triumphant team were Fedir Sydorenko and Rodion Zhyhalin, each contributing three goals, while Vasyl Oliinyk found the net twice.
 
Lithuania, which reached the final with a flawless record, playing a championship without mistakes, fell short in the decisive match against a more prepared Ukrainian team.
 
In their eighth continental final, Lithuania could not achieve more than an honorable defeat, securing a silver medal for the third time in the championship. They previously lost in the finals in 2001 and 2011, but have claimed the championship trophy five times (2007, 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021).
 
Scoring for Lithuania were Justas Pažarauskas, Genrik Pavliukianec, and Nerijus Montvydas.

Türkiye vs Israel 8:4 (5:2)
 
Türkiye - Sevda Altunoluk, Fatmagul Guler, Seydanur Kaplan, Reyhan Yilmaz, Sevtap Altunoluk and Berfin Altan
 
Israel - Or Mizrahi, Lihi Ben David, Elham Mahamid Ruzin, Roni Ohayon, Noa Malka and Gal Hamrani
 
Turkey, in its sixth consecutive final, has justified its role of the favorite and won the championship trophy. Adding the European title to the world crown they secured last year. This enabled both teams to qualify for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
 
In the final, after an exciting and exceptionally high-quality match, Turkey emerged victorious over Israel with a score of 8:4.
 
In a clash between teams that reached the trophy match with a flawless record, Turkey displayed more prowess and completely outplayed their rivals. After initially trailing to Israel, the Turkish team turned the tide and took a 3:2 lead.
 
At the halfway mark, the score was 5:2, and early in the second half, the Turkish team extended their lead to 7:2, eliminating any suspense about the outcome for the remainder of the match.
 
Sevda Altunoluk dominated the final with six goals, while Fatmagul Guler scored two goals.
 
In the Israeli team, Lihi Ben David was the top performer with three goals, and Or Mizrahi scored one.
 
This marks Turkey's third championship trophy, following their victories in 2015 and 2019. They were finalists in 2013, 2017, and 2021 but had to settle for the silver medal on those occasions.
 
Israel showcased significant quality in Podgorica, but similar to 2019, they couldn't achieve more than a silver medal. Two years ago in Samsun, the Israeli team won bronze; in 2019, they played in the grand final, while in 2013 and 2017, they secured bronze medals.

MEN bronze medal
Türkiye vs. Israel 5:2 (3:2)
 
Türkiye - Caner Keles, Tuncay Karakaya, Abdullah Aydogdu, Ekrem Gundogdu, Baris Tosun and Ebubekir Siddik Kara
 
Israel - Or Ben David, Mahmoud Mahajna, Michael Ruzin, Niv Ben Iche, Ricardo Perez and Doron Hodeda

Turkey finished the championship with a bronze medal for the second consecutive time.
 In the match for the third place, after an initial lead by the opponents, Turkey reversed the score with three consecutive goals before halftime, and they managed to maintain and extend their advantage until the end.
 The double scorers largely contributing to Turkey's victory were Ebubekir Siddik Kara and Ekrem Gundogdu, while Tuncay Karakaya scored one goal.
 
In the Israeli lineup, Mahmoud Mahajna scored twice.
 This is their third bronze medal, following achievements in 2013 and 2021.
 Their most significant result was in 2015 in Lithuania when they won the European Championship title.
 After 30 years, the men's goalball team of Israel returned to the biggest European stage.
 Their most notable achievement was in 1991 in the Finnish city of Lahti, where they claimed the title of European champions.
 
They also stood on the winner's podium in 1987 when they won a bronze medal in their debut performance.

Women bronze medal
Greece vs Great Britain 1:0
 
Greece - Vasiliki Ago, Engenia Stamati, Paraskevi Naka, Evlampia Mavrovounioti, Eleni Chalkiadali and Evangelia Gkritzali
 
Great Britain - Georgie Bullen, Antonia Bunyan, Lois Turner, Meme Robertson, Sarah Leiter and Megan Smithson-Booth
 
The women's goalball national team has returned to the winner's podium after 18 years.
 
In the match for the third place, Greece defeated Great Britain 1:0, securing their second European medal.
 They also won the bronze in 2005.
 The vital goal was scored by Vasiliki Agko.
 They were close to the winner's podium in 2009 and 2017 but were defeated in the matches for the third place against Finland (4:1) and Israel (2:1), respectively.
 The British team was on the brink of a medal in 2019 but lost the match for the third place to Germany 8:2.
 They were European champions in 2009 and finished the championship in 1987 with a bronze medal.

MEN 7th place
Great Britain vs Greece 5:3
 
Great Britain - Matt Loftus, Daniel Roper, Caleb Nanevie, Josh Murphy, Joe Roper and David Scott
 
Greece - Adriano Bezhani, Athanasios Chatzipantou, Ioannis Skourmpoutis, Sokratis Dingolis, Charalampos Kordakis and Grigorios Tatsis
 
The seventh place went to British goalball players, and they won a crucial match against Greece 5:3.
 
In a suspenseful match with many turnarounds, the returnees to the largest European stage succeeded thanks to a better finish.
 
Josh Murphy led the British team to victory with three goals, while Daniel Roper contributed with two goals.
 
In the Greek team, Athanasios Chatzipantou scored all three goals.
 
The British men's goalball team doesn't have a European medal, and their best result was fifth place achieved in 1989.
 
The Greek goalballists in Podgorica participated in the European Championship A-Group for the third time. They made their debut in the strongest competition in 2019, finishing eighth. Two years ago in Samsun, they ended the championship in ninth place

Women 7th place
Germany - Ukraine 2:4
 
Germany - Annkathrin Denker, Rauan Mardnli, Pia Knaute, Charlotte Kaercher, Jennifer Koch and Celine Rossling.
 
Ukraine - Natalia Melena, Yulia Fakieva, Olha Lukianchuk, Oleksandra Davydova, Liliia Dobrovolska and Yuliia Stetsiak;
 
The women's goalball national team of Ukraine finished in seventh place with a victory against Germany, 4:2, thus concluding the championship in Podgorica. The key to success was the strong start by the Ukrainians and a 3:0 lead. Germany managed to make a comeback and reduce the lead to 3:2, but they were unable to threaten the Ukrainian triumph.
 
The most accurate player in the Ukrainian team was Olha Lukianchuk, scoring three goals, while Yulia Fakieva contributed with one goal.
 
Jennifer Koch scored both goals for Germany.

Women 5th place
Finland vs France 3:0
 
Finland  - Miina Groenroos, Iida Kauppila, Raisa Kuusela, Milla Lappalainen, Krista Leppanen i Jasmin Mikkola
 
France - Coralie Gonzalez, Adelia Ajami, Loise Rondepierre, Gwendoline Matos, Melda Alhan and Jahmali Berquier;
 
In Podgorica, Finland failed to break their streak at the European championships, finishing in fifth place. In their final match of the championship, they defeated France 3:0.
 
The victory and fifth place were secured with goals from double scorer Raïsa Kuušela and Krista Laponen.
 
Finland has participated in all 19 European championships and has stood on the victory podium nine times in total. However, since 2009, they have not been among the top teams in Europe, while they won the championship titles in 1993, 1997, 1999, and 2007.

9th/10th place men
 
Montenegro - Belgium 2:7
 
Montenegro - Marko and Nikola Nikolić, Miloš Ranitović, Goran Macanović, Veselin Vuković i Velizar Obradović
 
Belgium - Arne Vanhove, Wassime Amnir, Rob Eijssner, Cemil Dzemail, Justin Verplancke and Elson Curaj
 
The Montenegro national goalball team, finishing in tenth place, concluded their participation in the European Championship A Group in Podgorica.
 Montenegrin goalball players were defeated in the ninth-place match against Belgium with a score of 7:2.
 Under the guidance of coach Nikola Čurović, the team ended the championship with one victory and four losses, and they will compete in the B Group next year.
 
They started the tournament triumphantly with a win against Ukraine but after that match they were forced to proceed without their best player, Nikola Nikolić due to injury.
 The absence of the injured goal-scorer led to defeat against Israel, Turkey, and Finland, resulting in the last place in the group and a return to the B Group.
 In the farewell match of the championship, Marko Nikolić scored both goals for Montenegro.
 In the Belgium team, which secured its first victory in the championship, Wassime Amnir was the top scorer with four goals, Arne Vanhove scored two, and Justin Verplancke scored one goal.

Semi-finals MEN
Lithuania - Türkiye 11:1
 
Lithuania - Mantas Brazauskis, Juozas Eigminas, Arturas Jonikaitis, Nerijus Montvydas, Genrik Pavliukianec and Justas Pažarauskas
 
Türkiye - Caner Keles, Tuncay Karakaya, Abdullah Aydogdu, Ekrem Gundogdu, Baris Tosun and Ebubekir Siddik Kara
 
Lithuania once again demonstrated why it is on the throne and why it hasn’t had any serious competition in recent years.
 
Lithuania secured their sixth victory and is the only team in the men's part of the tournament with a perfect record.
 
The most efficient player in the winning team was Genrik Pavliukianec with eight goals, while Justas Pažarauskas finished the match with three goals.
The only goal for Turkey was scored by Caner Keles.
Lithuania has been on the biggest European stage since 2001 when it first stood on the victory podium.
They have won the championship trophy five times (2007, 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021) and reached the final two more times (2001 and 2011).
Lithuania claimed its first gold medal in 2007 and has only missed the opportunity to compete in the grand final on two occasions since then, in 2015 and 2019, when it had to settle for the bronze medal.

Semi final MAN
Ukraine vs. Israel 7:3
 
Ukraine - Vasyl Oliinyk, Anton Strelchyk, Fedir Sydorenko, Oleksandr Toporkov, Yevheniy Tsyhanenko and Rodion Zhyhalin.
 
Israel - Or Ben David, Mahmoud Mahajna, Michael Ruzin, Niv Ben Iche, Ricardo Perez and Doron Hodeda
 
Ukraine is in the final, for the third consecutive time at the European Championships.
 
In the semifinal, they achieved victory in an interesting and high-quality match.
Israel confirmed that they possess serious quality, and that Israel reaching the semifinals was not a surprise.
After an initial defeat to Montenegro, Ukraine recorded their fifth triumph, earning another spot in the final.
In the winning lineup, Vasyl Oliinyk was the most efficient with four goals, Rodion Zhyhalin scored two, and Anton Strelchyk contributed one goal.
In the Israeli lineup, Mahmoud Mahajna was the standout performer with two goals, while Or Ben David scored once.
 
Ukraine will play in the final tomorrow against the winner of the match between Lithuania and Turkey.

Semi final women 9:2
 
Türkiye - Sevda Altunoluk, Fatmagul Guler, Seydanur Kaplan, Reyhan Yilmaz, Sevtap Altunoluk and Berfin Altan
 
Greece - Vasiliki Agko, Engenia Stamati, Paraskevi Naka, Evlampia Mavrovounioti, Eleni Chalkiadali and Evangelia Gkritzali
 
Turkey will play in the European Championship final for the sixth consecutive time. In the semifinals, they justified being one of the favorites, easily defeating Greece without major issues, maintaining a perfect record.
Tomorrow, they will compete for their third title against Israel, who eliminated Great Britain 9:0 in the semifinal match.
The Turkish team won the championship trophy in 2015 and 2019, while in 2013, 2017, and 2021, they had to settle for the silver medal.
Fatmagul Guler led the Turkish team to victory with five goals; Sevda Altunoluk added three, while Sevtap Altunoluk finished the match with one goal.
Vasiliki Agko scored twice for Greece.
 
Greece and Great Britain will compete for the third-place position.

Congratulations to the women's team of Israel for securing their ticket to