SL Handball recruit Serbian coaches for South Asian Games push

HFSL President Major General Dampath Fernando (left) addressing the media. others from left: NOC Secretary General Maxwell De Silva, Serbian coaches Nedeljko Matic and Nenad Krajvesk – Pic by Upul Abayasekara

By Madushka Balasuriya 

The Handball Federation of Sri Lanka (HFSL) has hired two internationally renowned coaches from Serbia to coach the men’s and women’s handball teams, the domestic handball governing body announced yesterday, with them contracted to work up until the end of the South Asian Games in Nepal in December. 

Nedeljko Matic and Nenad Krajvesk, who have been working with the men’s and women’s teams, respectively, for the last 10 days or so, were brought in with the assistance of the International Handball Federation (IHF) following lengthy negotiations, explained HFSL President Major General Dampath Fernando. 

“We have been looking to bring in some internationally experienced coaches for quite some time, but it hasn’t been easy because they’re not cheap. Fortunately, the IHF agreed to step in and subsidise a portion of their salary,” Fernando told Daily FT, also thanking the Ministry of Sports and the National Olympic Committee for their cooperation in procuring the services of the two coaches.

“In terms of how we scouted them, the IHF helped in that regard as well, and both Matic and Krajvesk come highly recommended.”

Matic has been a handball coach for the last 19 years, while Krajvesk has been coaching since 1994. Serbia has a longstanding pedigree in handball, with the national team currently ranked 26th in the world, and as such the pair said they were confident of seeing a swift improvement in the fortunes of the Sri Lankan handball teams, though they stopped short of guaranteeing silverware.

“We’re not going to come here and guarantee that we’ll get medals, but what we can promise you is that Sri Lanka, as a handball playing nation, will be respected after the South Asian Games,” stated Matic at a media briefing yesterday, speaking on behalf of his colleague as well.

A majority of the men’s and women’s national team is made up defence forces personnel, as such their fitness is not in question. However, elaborating on the areas the national team needed to improve on, Matic held back no punches, stating that it was “80% technical”.

“The technical level at the moment is not so high, and improving this area is the most important thing for us. Maybe after a few months we can look at agility, power and speed, and things like that; but without a solid technical foundation, those things mean nothing.”

During their stay, Matic and Krajvesk will also provide coaching clinics for local handball coaches, helping to build on the work the HFSL have been doing over the years in an attempt to grow the sport at the grassroots level.