In just over a year, Lithuania has gone from having no wheelchair handball to hosting the first four-a-side EHF European Championship. Now, the Baltic nation is daring to dream big – and they mean business.
Just a little more than a year ago, wheelchair handball didn’t even exist in Lithuania. Now, the country will host the EHF European Wheelchair Handball Championship 2025 in Vilnius.
The spark came from Paulius Glaska, chairman of the Lithuanian Association of Physical Activity for People with Disabilities, who recalls, in an interview at Eurohandball, how “around 10 people came to the first training session … most participants became genuinely interested.” From that modest start, things snowballed quickly: regular training camps, growing numbers, and a full-blown competitive vision.
Lithuania’s Handball Federation soon backed the initiative, striking a cooperation agreement in December. As their Secretary General Žilvinas Galimovas puts it: “Perhaps the expression ‘dream carefully, because dreams come true’ would be the most appropriate here.”
Squad of 14 athletes train regularly
Guided by coach Karolis Kaladinskas – best known for his work with Lithuania’s indoor and beach handball teams – a squad of 14 athletes now train regularly, even if “without real match experience … it is difficult to predict results.”
Yet this debut is about more than competition. Glaska hopes that a “growing community, new opportunities, and the visibility of this sport will encourage more people with disabilities to join … and contribute to the development of wheelchair handball.”
Read more: LITHUANIA “CAREFULLY DREAM” OF WHEELCHAIR HANDBALL SUCCESS