The men's National Handball Team returned recently from the Eurofest Handball Festival held in Slovenia.

The organisers' idea was to play this tournament on the outdoor courts but unfortunately some matches had to start late and some had to be shifted to indoor courts because of inclement weather.

The Malta lads had their first match against RK Ormoz of Slovenia in which first day nerves seemed to have had the better of them and they lost the match although closely 18-15.

The second match against Jiskra Trebon of the Czech Republic proved a harder encounter as this team possesses some first Division professional players and the score reading 21-15 at the end.

The match against RD Kih of Slovenia again was another team which is professional.

The Maltese players played their hearts out but lost narrowly 14-12.

The fourth game was played against the Tournament favourites RD Vhe of Slovenia. Our lads suffered another defeat 23-15.

Malta played for 9th and 10th place against the team from the Czech Republic KF Ledic. The lads defended well and wanted a victory. With some good goalkeeping from Andrew Mifsud, Malta won the game 14-13 and finished in the 9th place.

The two Slovene teams who were in Malta's group finished in the 1st and 2nd places in the Tournament.

The experience gained from this Tournament in preparation for the Challenge Trophy later on this year will be of immense value. The opposition was of a very high standard and the players played a number of matches in a relatively short span of time. The coach Milos Stanisavljevic and team manager Karl Chetcuti were in charge of the group. The coach was satisfied with their performance and their behaviour was exemplary both on and off the field.