Zurab Tsintsadze: Georgia deserve their EHF EURO spot

One of the heroes of Georgia's success was goalkeeper Zurab Tsintsadze, who made 12 saves in the crucial match against Hungary, and picked up several Player of the Match awards through the qualifiers.

"When Giorgi scored the goal to win the game everyone had one emotion – joy. For us, it was a great achievement that we reached the European championships for the first time in history. It was a dream come true for us and I couldn't be more proud with this team. I was full of emotions after the final whistle and still was in the shock from happiness," says the 27-year-old.

The KS Azoty-Puławy goalkeeper is looking forward to hearing Georgia's national anthem for the first time at a major tournament.

"I am honoured to play for my country's national team and I feel responsible and proud to have this opportunity. I am always emotional during the national anthem and I feel the joy,” says Tsintsadze.

“On the other hand you have to feel responsibility while playing for your country. Georgian handball deserved to qualify for the European championship. Our country has a great handball history and for us to play the European championship is a great responsibility to represent our country. This clearly shows our desire and hard work through all these years. We hope that our nation will be with us and we will show why we have to be here," he adds.

Zurab played a key role in helping Georgia to secure a ticket for EHF EURO 2024 as one of the best third-ranked teams and the former GRK Ohrid goalkeeper was crowned as man of the match in four of the six matches during the qualifiers. Additionally, he even scored a couple of goals and helped the team's attack, but he is modest about his overall contribution and says that it was a team effort.

"I can say that it is the merit of the whole team, but also my good game. If the team plays well, the goalkeeper does well. Individually, I was in good form, but without teamwork, individual achievement is nothing for me.

“It is a very good feeling when you score a goal and help your team, but for me I value the save more, because that's my main job," says Tsintsadze.

Georgia are in group E at the EHF EURO 2024 in Mannheim, alongside the reigning European champions Sweden, the super-dangerous Netherlands and the motivated Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"Sweden are the current European champions and that says it all. They are the best of the best,” thinks Tsintsadze.

“The Netherlands are definitely a very strong team where handball stars play. Bosnia are also not inferior and proved it in qualification, they beat Montenegro and Slovenia. We have a very strong group and every game will be hard for us, but we are not going to give up and we will fight till the end in every game," the goalkeeper adds.

Finally, the experienced Tsintsadze predicts a bright future for Georgia and hopes the final tournament in Germany is just the start for the national team, which will lead to further success.

"Our main goal is to prove that we are worthy to participate in a championship of this level. We have already created history with our team, but I think we have more to prove.

“Our team is quite young and developing. In the future I see us as a strong opponent for other teams. Our young generation is very promising and I hope we will continue our progress in major tournaments. For now we have to focus on the upcoming EHF EURO 2024 and be in the best form possible," says Tsintsadze.