After overcoming significant challenges, the Montenegrin handball team secured a victory against Paraguay, the sole outsider in the Olympic Games qualification tournament, winning 30:25. One of the seasoned players, Itana Grbić, remarked that the “lionesses” anticipated a tough competition.

“I’m not sure who thought it would be an easy match… Even during the last World Cup, the game was evenly matched up until the 40th minute. Every championship sees opponents improving technically, and Paraguay is not an easy matchup for us; they play with quick ball movement and have smaller players,” Itana explained.

The upcoming challenges in Ulm will be significantly more formidable, with matches against Germany on Saturday and Slovenia the following day.

“We need to make some changes in the next 48 hours if we want to have any hope and expectations,” stated the center back of Montenegro.

Itana emphasizes the importance of a different mindset from the “lionesses.”

“While it’s true that this is the tournament’s start and the first opponent, our attitude and approach to the tournament must shift. We need to remember that we are competing for the Olympic Games, and everything—our mentality and attitude—needs to change,” Itana asserted.

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