The national Goalball teams of Lithuania, Ukraine, and Turkey, medalists from previous championships, secured convincing victories at the start of the 2023 IBSA Goalball European Championship A Group in Podgorica.

Lithuania, defending their title, triumphed in Group A against the German team with a score of 6-5. This match marked the first day of competition. The German squad was several times ahead in the match, but the eternal start of the Lithuanian team, Genrik Pavliukianec, after conceding himself one goal, scored in the next play one amazing goal. In the last four minutes of this first match of the European Championships, the result was 4-4. An electric ending and one wonderful way to start the competition.

In the second match of the group, Greece outperformed Belgium with a score of 8-4.

Ukraine, having played in the finals of the last two championships, emerged victorious in Group B, defeating Israel 12-5.

Bronze medalists from Samsun, Turkey, started the tournament with a win against Finland with a score of 10-5.

In this group, Montenegro had a day off and is set to face Ukraine tomorrow at 11.30 am.

In the women’s section of the tournament, Turkey had a convincing start. The team won against Germany 10-0 in Group C.

In Group D, Finland outperformed Hungary with a score of 2-1, while the match between Greece and France ended in a 1-1 draw.

Check out the results of Day 1 and the schedule for Day 2 (CET):

Saturday, 9th
Lithuania vs Germany (mA): 6-5
Belgium vs Greece (mA): 8-4
Germany vs Türkiye (wC): 0-10
Hungary vs Finland (wD): 1-2
Greece vs France (wD): 1-1
Ukraine vs Israel (mB): 12-5
Türkiye vs Finland (mB): 10-5

Sunday, 10th
9 am – Israel vs Greece (wD)
10.15 am – France vs Hungary (wD)
11.30 am – Montenegro vs Ukraine (mB)
12.45 pm – Israel vs Finland (mB)
2 pm – Great Britain vs Lithuania (mA)
3.15 pm – Germany vs Belgium (mA)
4.30 pm – Türkiye vs Great Britain (wC)
5.45 pm – Germany vs Ukraine (wC)

The entire competition have live streaming on the IBSA YouTube channel. Stay tuned for all the action!