Ball in hand

• Source: Global Times
• [09:59 March 01 2011]
• Comments

Courting handballers Photo: Courtesy of Handball in China

By Song Yuanyuan

"For me, handball is the best game in the world. Everyone would say that, but it is true. It combines so many elements: It is very physical, but also very fair, which means you abide by the rules, and play very friendly. Even though they touch you, which may hurt quite a bit, people say sorry when touch other players," 29-year-old Marcus Wachtmeister said. Wachtmeister has been playing handball for 19 years, including professional experiences in the European Cup and about seven tournaments he played throughout China.

Wachtmeister is from Germany, the origin place of modern handball and one of the countries where it has long been a popular tradition. He has been living in Beijing for about two years for his Ph.D. research program in environmental politics Oxford, where he played handball and also coached the team.

"Scandinavian countries play quite well, in addition to Spain, Croatia, and some north African countries including Morocco and Egypt, France has the best team so far," Wachtmeister explained, admitting the lack of popularity in China. He took over the leadership of the hobby group Handball in China and now has around 30-some members in Beijing, mostly expats though Chinese are welcomed too, and he says old hands and newbies are both welcome.

Finding a good indoor handball court, 40 meters by 20 meters, is quite difficult in China, but still Wachtmeister persists. Every Thursday evening he rearranges the basketball court at the gym of Beijing City International School into a passable handball court and shows new players how to play.

"It is a team sport, but everyone in the team relies on you, so the individual is important, but you cannot play the game alone," Wachtmeister said. "You have to be part of the team. It is very complex but it is easy too."

"Though handball is not very popular in China, there is a lot of talent," Wachtmeister said, introducing us to Zhang Li who comes to play as a hobby every Thursday and is now just warming up. A local Beijinger in her early 30s, Zhang started playing in 1992, and once played in the Olympic Games for China in 1996.

"I think the fun of playing handball, besides the body training effects of course, it also makes me feel happy, know how to better cooperate with my teammates, and also make new friends," Zhang said, smiling and a little out of breath. According to Zhang, handball's rules are borrowed from both soccer and basketball. But compared with basketball, handball is rougher as players can actually push or pull each other, while compared with soccer it has more points, as soccer tends to have very few scores per game.

Adam Blanar-Oviatt, a 29-year-old American guy playing for his fourth time, said, "When playing sports it is important that I challenge my body physically and have the chance to compete. I was drawn to this team in particular, not only because of its athletic qualities, but because of the teamwork and camaraderie we have together." The key to handball is to think ahead. Since you can only run with the ball for three steps you have to very quickly decide where to pass it. It requires both skill and coordination. The most important thing to train on is developing a quick shot on offense and good blocking skills on defense," he added. "I am exhausted after the game. But it is a great feeling to work hard for two hours, and then all go out and socialize together."

Wachtmeister said that while becoming an international superstar like French handballer Nicolas Karabatic depends on your physical prerequisites, really everyone can play to a sufficiently high level. "In my years in international hobby teams with varying degrees of talent, age, genders, and commitment, what sets a good player apart is a combination of these attributes: commitment, fitness, guts, stress resistance, team player," he said. "Being a team player to me is the most important quality."