"Of course it hurts"

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Austria's handball men have started their immediate preparations for the World Championship, which begins on January 14, with a clear 19:31 (13:16) defeat against tournament hosts Poland.

In the absence of captain Mykola Bilyk, who was ruled out for the final round, Ales Pajovic's team were unable to play to their usual strengths for 60 minutes. Further opponents at the four-nation tournament in Plock are Tunisia (Thursday) and Japan (Friday, both 17.30/live ORF Sport+).

"Of course it hurts, but better now than at the World Cup," said Pajovic after an arduous opening game, exactly six days before the start of the finals in Croatia. In the first half, the Red-White-Red were still on an equal footing, but were harmless in attack after the break and made too many technical mistakes. "The absence of Bilyk hurts us, you notice that straight away," admitted Pajovic. "But the boys have to go into tackles more, look for more one-on-one situations and be more patient," demanded Pajovic.

The upcoming opponents, Tunisia and Japan, are also represented at the World Cup like Poland and, with a slightly different style of play to what we are used to in Europe, are regarded as ideal preparation for the first two World Cup duels with Kuwait (14 January) and Qatar (16 January). At least one of these two teams must be defeated in Porec in order to virtually secure progression to the main round. Their third opponent will be six-time world champions France on January 18.