“A great challenge” for New Zealand at their return to the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship

Renowned for their rugby team, a three-time winner of the World Cup, New Zealand are trying to make strides also in handball, ticking their second appearance at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship after finishing 20th in their maiden competition at Argentina 2011.

12 years after that performance, the team is back on the big stage, in the first edition of the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship with a 32-team line-up and the New Zealand have the poise and grit to deliver good results, despite their lack of experience.

“Handball is not so popular as are other sports, for example, rugby, in New Zealand, but the Federation has been making great strides to improve the sport, to make it more known and to make it more popular because there is not a big pool of players to choose from. But the thing is that this is a start and we will be looking to improve more and more,” says New Zealand’s left back, Paul Pringot.

Born in Paris, France, Pringot has New Zealand heritage and started handball in Europe alongside his brother, Hector, who is also in the team, featuring as a right back, being one of the most experienced players in the squad, courtesy of their background.

The pair of brothers combined for three goals in the first game at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship against Slovenia, a painful loss for New Zealand (11:60), which underlined the challenges the Oceania side faces in trying to bring handball to the forefront.

Basically, Paul and Hector Pringot scored 27% of their team’s goals against Slovenia in what proved to be the most lopsided loss in the history of the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, with New Zealand being at the receiving end of three of the biggest losses in the history, with the three others coming from Venezuela.  

Yet that did not deter the New Zealand side, which is bullish about their future in the competition, with games against Hungary and Morocco on the menu next in Group B of the preliminary round before they will probably face other sides in the President’s Cup.

“Of course, this is a tough loss to process, but it is about a learning process and, as I said, we want to grow the sport. We do not have full-size courts in New Zealand, and we do not even use resin, so this is a very steep learning curve, but we try to adapt the best we can. It is an honour to be here, to be honest,” added Pringot.

Facing a European powerhouse like Slovenia was surely not the ideal start for New Zealand, but the Oceania side really stayed true to themselves and even performed the traditional ceremonial dance – the Haka – before the match, underlining their passion and roots.

In fact, even the trip to Croatia and the preparation training camp, which took place for a week before the start of the competition in Hungary, were partially covered through a crowdfunding effort, which raised 39,030 New Zealand dollars – roughly $24,000 – an excellent amount for a team still in its infancy.

Both the money and the support was there, with a dozen of New Zealand fans and members of the players’ families being in the stands of the Varazdin Arena to support the team in the first match at Croatia 2023.

“We are making a lot of progress, that training camp in Hungary was surely helping us to know each other better and improve as a team, and these games will surely be even more helpful to develop,” adds Pringot.

With New Zealand earning their ticket to the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship after they finished on the second place in the IHF Trophy Oceania last December, behind Tahiti, it is clear that there is plenty to improve and a lot to straighten out before battling for bigger objectives.

Yet with the passion, the desire and the grit fully emerging into the big picture, New Zealand might still make their objective, which is definitely to win their first-ever game at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, after conceding seven losses in their first seven games at Argentina 2011.

That might just happen if everything clicks here, at Croatia 2023, but overall, it is a huge start for the side, which is taking everything in, learning from mistakes and exploring new avenues in their handball quest.

“It is an amazing experience, and we just want to make handball more well-known in New Zealand,” concludes Pringot.

Photos: Croatia 2023/Kolektiff images