Young players shine bright in European competitions

EHF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WOMEN

Petra Simon, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

At only 19 years old, Petra Simon is one of the most prominent young players in the EHF Champions League Women. This is her first season at this level, after joining FTC Rail Cargo Hungaria in 2023. 

A skilled goalscorer, Petra has been in the spotlight since the beginning of her handball career. She scored 43 times for Hungary at the W19 EHF EURO 2023, an important contribution that led her team to the third consecutive title, and was named the MVP of the competition. Before that, Petra was also part of the All-star Team at the 2022 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, when she won the bronze medal with Hungary.

Luciana Rebelo, Team Esbjerg

The Portuguese right back made the step to the European top flight competition after one season at Benfica in the EHF European Cup. Signing with a team like Esbjerg, who made it to the EHF FINAL4 last season, is an important achievement for the 18-year-old player.

In the summer of 2023, Luciana was part of Portugal’s squad at Women’s 19 EHF EURO 2023, where she was included in the All-star Team as the best right back of the competition. Portugal managed to finish in fourth place, in part due to Rebelo’s outstanding performance. She netted 62 times, only six less than the top scorer of the competition, Julie Scaglione (68 goals).

Sarah Bouktit, Metz Handball

Not many 21-year-old players can say that they are world champions or that they have taken part in an EHF FINAL4 edition. But Sarah Bouktit can pride herself on being one of the most talented and successful players, which she has repeatedly proven over the years.

There’s no doubt that one of the French line player’s top achievements is winning gold at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship. She also performs at a high level with her club team, currently being in her fifth season with Metz Handball.

Every year, Sarah has shown improvements in her playing style, and this season stands out as her best so far. After the conclusion of the group phase, Bouktit is the top scorer of the competition with 89 goals, a crucial performance that helped Metz go straight to the quarter-finals.

EHF EUROPEAN LEAGUE WOMEN

Léna Grandveau, Neptunes Nantes

Neptunes Nantes became the EHF European League champions in 2021 and have strived to achieve the same success again since then. They were close to reaching the EHF Finals last year as well, but narrowly lost against BV Borussia 09 Dortmund in the quarter-finals. This season, the French team has made it out of the group phase once again and will face Sola HK in the knockout stage. Luckily, the team relies on a combination of skilled and talented players, among which is the 21 year-old centre back Léna Grandveau.

Currently in her second season with Nantes, Léna is already an important asset for her team, having scored 34 times in the group phase and is getting close to surpassing her last season’s achievement of 39 goals. A major breakthrough for the young star was the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, where she helped France conquer the gold medal. Léna was pivotal for her team’s success in the match against Norway, where she scored no less than five goals to lead France to a well-deserved win.

The French back was included in the All-star Team of the W17 EHF EURO 2019 and was nominated for the 2023 IHF Young Female Player of the Year award.

Ana Pandza, HC Podravka Vegeta

The 20-year-old centre back is not the only professional handball player of her family. Her older sister Katarina is also part of Podravka’s squad and Austria’s national team. The two sisters have also worked together before, when they were both playing for Austria’s under-20 team. 

Ana joined the Croatian club in 2022, after two years at Hypo Niederösterreich in Austria. Podravka Vegeta couldn’t make it through to the quarter-finals last season, but this year they’ve managed to reach the knockout stage, after a difficult journey that started in Qualification Phase 3. Ana played an important role in Podravka’s victory over SPONO Eagles, scoring eight times and helping the team qualify for the group phase.

Barbora Lancz, Motherson Mosonmagyarovari KC

The Slovakian-born right back is already one of the most experienced young players in the competition Currently in her third season with Motherson Mosonmagyarovari KC in the EHF European League, Barbora has also gained international experience with the senior national team of Slovakia, which she joined when she was only 17 years old.

Even though Lancz was the top scorer for her club last season, with 41 goals, Mosonmagyarovari didn’t manage to qualify for the quarter-finals. Barbora’s importance for the team has been proven this year as well, one of the main achievements being the win against Sola HK, when the 21-year-old scored five times.

Barbora stood out as a talented player during her junior career, when she took part in the W17 EHF EURO in 2017 and 2019 and at the W19 EHF EURO in 2021 and became one of the main scorers for the team.

Photos © Sandor Csudai, Marius Ionescu, Thomas CAVIGNEAUX, HC Podravka Vegeta