Türkiye keep captain Cemal Kütahya in their hearts

With some luck, the Turkish team finally won 30:29 in Luxembourg, securing their first two points in the EHF EURO 2024 qualification.

“This victory of course is for Cemal, we are sure that he watched the match from heaven above and was happy with us,” said Kanberoglu, adding: “Cemal is always with us, always in our hearts. When we were in the dressing room, we all looked at his shirt and realised once again how much we miss him. We are still in shock.”

For coach Hulusi Okan Halay, the training camp before the qualifiers was the worst.

“All the players were in shock, we constantly kept thinking about Cemal, mentally it was sometimes unbearable. He was such a great character, a great person, an outstanding captain. We miss him incredibly, it’s hard to describe,” Halay said.

Ugur Kilic, president of the Turkish Handball Federation, was with the team in Luxembourg, and his feelings were also clear.

“Those were very emotional moments for the team today. Of course we are happy that we won this game, our thoughts were and are always with Cemal and his family. It’s all a very, very difficult situation. We will never forget Cemal. Our team stuck together during this difficult time,” Kilic said after the match.

But everyone also knows that life has to go on somehow, although Kanberoglu added: “We will always play for Cemal.”

The Luxembourg Handball Federation initiated a special donation campaign for the victims of the earthquake, together with UNICEF.