Antalya write history for Türkiye with EHF European Cup Women win

Turkish handball set a new milestone on Sunday evening after Antalya Konyaalti BSK wrote history and sealed the first European title for a Turkish side after bouncing back from a six-goal loss in the first leg of the EHF European Cup Women against Spanish side Club Balonmán Atlético Guardés.

In the first leg, Guardés dominated the game in a fiery atmosphere in the "A Sangrina" arena in Pontevedra, limiting Konyaalti Antalya BSK to only 17 goals scored, with the Spanish side taking a clear option for their first-ever European trophy in history.

But the second leg was a totally different proposition for the Spanish side, with Antalya properly motivated to become the first team from Türkiye to seal a European trophy after three other sides had reached the final of the third-tier European competition but failed to secure silverware.

It took only 19 minutes for Antalya to erase the deficit from the first leg, as their 16:7 lead at the break clearly underlined the difficulty of the task that Guardés had, especially after goalkeeper Sevilay Öcal Imamoglu boasted a 57% saving efficiency after the first half.

It went from bad to worse for Guardés, which failed to produce anything meaningful in the second half, despite their top scorer, Sandra Santiago, having seven goals to improve her overall tally in the competition to 69 goals.

Serbian right back Sanja Premovic scored nine goals for Antalya Konyaalti BSK, who almost doubled the number of goals scored in the final's first leg, clinching a clear 33:20 win in the second leg.

With a 50:43 win on aggregate, Antalya Konyaalti BSK became the first-ever Turkish side to win the competition after Muratpașa Belediyesi BSK lost the finals in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons, while Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK lost against another Spanish side, Rocasa Gran Canaria, in the 2015/16 season.

"We broke new ground for Turkish handball. My friends gave everything they got; we played amazingly. May the cup be a gift to all Turkish women. We crossed the fear wall. In the past, we were the ones who lost the finals. From now on, no one will think they can beat Turkish teams in Türkiye anymore," said Yasemin Șahin, Antalya's captain, according to eurohandball.com.

Undefeated at home this season, Antalya lost two away games, against Slovakian side MKS IUVENTA Michalovce in the semi-finals and against Guardés in the final, but bounced back each time on their home court to secure wins.

Photo: Club Balonmán Atlético Guardés