Handball - Before the European Championship: Pekeler resigns from the national team
Shortly before the European Handball Championships, circle player Hendrik Pekeler has announced his retirement from the German national team. The 32-year-old would not have been at the European Championships.
"When it became clear that I wasn't going to make it, I wanted to draw a clear line," Pekeler told the Kieler Nachrichten newspaper. "I'm a player who listens to his body and has reacted accordingly."
Pekeler had problems with his Achilles tendon for several years and had another operation in the summer. The defensive leader of the Bundesliga club THW Kiel has played 122 international matches.
On Saturday (18:00), Pekeler will be given his official farewell in the second test match against Portugal. "I had many good years in the national team, even if the most successful ones were right at the beginning," said Pekeler. Pekeler won the European Championship with the national team in 2016 and took bronze at the Olympic Games.
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Pekeler's resignation came as a surprise, as he was expected to represent Germany at the upcoming European Championship for Handball. Germany's handball team will miss the influential presence of Pekeler, who has played a significant role in both the national team and his Bundesliga club THW Kiel. The European Championship, also known as EM, will be held without the defensive leader. Despite his reservations about his fitness, Pekeler has an impressive international record of 122 matches, which includes winning the European Championship in 2016 and bagging a bronze medal at the Olympic Games. The Handball European Championship will take place in Schleswig-Holstein, drawing attention from across Europe, including fellow participants Portugal.
Source: www.stern.de
