Hungary have been one of the most consistent teams when it comes to the Olympic Games, with three medals – bronze at Montreal 1976 and at Atlanta 1996 and silver at Sydney 2000 – and no finish outside of the top 10, with the seventh place at Tokyo 2020 being the worst finish in seven appearances.

Tokyo 2020 has also marked the return of Hungary, after the European side missed out at London 2012 and Rio 2016, prompting a rethink throughout the whole pyramid and a new strategy coming in, with the focus on developing young talents, as Hungary became a true powerhouse in the younger age categories.

Titles at the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship and at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship in recent years helped Hungary create a pipeline of talent and even the coach, Vladimir Golovin, came through the ranks of that system, having previously coaches the younger age category teams before being propelled to this role.

For the doubleheader against Switzerland, which took place in March, Golovin relied, once again, on youth, with only three players aged 30 or more being in the roster. Nevertheless, young players like Petra Simon (19 years old) or right back Katrin Klujber (24 years old) have plenty of caps under their belt.

Yet Hungary are still missing that killer instinct, which they lacked over the last major international competitions, finishing 11th at the EHF EURO 2022 and 10th at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship and at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship. 

Nevertheless, hosting the Olympic Qualification Tournament #1 in Debrecen, Hungary are primed to secure a place at Paris 2024, being favourites to finish on one of the top two places, alongside Sweden, a team which they faced seven times in the past 17 years, winning only three times.

The two sides have also met at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship last December, with Sweden taking a 26:22 win. Hungary have also played against Cameroon in the last edition of the world handball flagship competition, with a 39:20 win, also securing three wins in three matches against Japan at the IHF Women’s World Championship in 2007 (35:31), 2009 (35:28) and 2015 (31:21).

Key players: Katrin Klujber (right back), Viktória Győri-Lukács (right wing), Gréta Kácsor (left back)

History at the Olympic Games: 1976: Bronze medal, 1980: 4th, 1996: Bronze medal, 2000: Silver medal, 2004: 5th, 2008: 4th, 2020: 7th

Olympic Qualification Tournament #1 (in Debrecen, Hungary): Sweden, Hungary, Cameroon, Japan