Lithuania “carefully dream” of wheelchair handball success

As chairman of the LNFAA, a national organisation in Lithuania which initiates physical activities for people with disabilities, Paulius Glaska has been involved in many different sports for athletes in wheelchairs.

Until last year, though, handball was not one of them.

“The idea to launch wheelchair handball had been on my mind for a long time. Right before last November, I asked a few athletes if they would like to try the sport,” Glaska recalls how it all started in the autumn of 2024.

He arranged a coach and set a date.

“Around 10 people came to the first training session. The coach created an inclusive and engaging atmosphere, and most participants became genuinely interested,” Glaska says. “More people joined, training sessions became regular, and we began organising training camps. Things progressed rapidly.”

Soon, it became clear this wasn’t a one-off. Glaska envisioned how wheelchair handball in Lithuania could become more than a recreational game — a competitive sport, in which the players match themselves with nations where wheelchair handball had long taken off.

“It started slowly, but very soon everything gained momentum. At times, it felt like things were simply falling from the sky,” Glaska says.

The Lithuanian Handball Federation (LRF), with 430 male, 200 female, and between 1,500 and 1,600 younger age members, embraced Glaska’s initiative, and they signed a cooperation agreement in December.

“Perhaps the expression ‘dream carefully, because dreams come true’ would be the most appropriate here,” LRF Secretary General Žilvinas Galimovas says. “At that time, we gently dreamed that this year we might even be able to participate in the European Wheelchair Handball Championship.”

Things would get even better than that.

When the EHF started looking for a potential host nation, the Lithuanian federation was triggered right away.

“We thought that it would be quite interesting to do so, if finances allowed,” Galimovas says. “We shared this idea with the EHF office and, eventually, they encouraged us to organise this championship and take leadership. We accepted this challenge.”

The encouragement by the EHF “made all our efforts feel meaningful,” Glaska adds. “Today, when we look at our team, we are confident that we have achieved more than we ever imagined when we first started.”

Suddenly, Lithuania will not be just participants, but also hosts of the four-a-side EHF European Wheelchair Championship 2025, and it has all come before the team has even played a single match.

Under the guidance of experienced indoor and beach handball coach Karolis Kaladinskas, mostly known for leading Lithuania women’s national team, 14 athletes gather regularly to practice and get ready for the championship in Vilnius between 26 and 30 November.

“Without real match experience and an idea of ​​what our team might look like on the field, it is difficult to predict results,” Galimovas says. “But we believe and will strive to reach the semi-finals and then compete with the strongest European teams for medals. We have a dream to win a ticket to the world championship.”

For that, Lithuania would have to make it all the way to the final of their first-ever event.

In preliminary round group A, Lithuania face seasoned opponents like former European Nations’ Tournament winners the Netherlands (2015, 2016) and Croatia (2019), alongside Norway and Hungary. 

Group B includes favourites like Portugal, the winners of the six-a-side combined European and world championship in 2022, and France, semi-finalists of last year’s world championship, and is completed by Spain and Romania.

The challenges for Lithuania as the host country, though, are not only on the court.

It started with finding an appropriate arena with enough hotels nearby that are suitable for wheelchair users. After weighing several alternatives, the federation found that capital Vilnius and the arena of the NBA Basketball School was the only option.

“Then, naturally, there were challenges related to the specifics of this event. We organise many different international handball events, but the wheelchair handball championship will be the first international event of this sport in Lithuania,” Galimovas says. “So, until now, we are really excited and are working hard to make sure everything goes smoothly.”

Competing against nations that arrive in Vilnius with many more years of experience, the results of the Lithuanian team are not the key indicator for a successful European championship.

Glaska hopes that “a growing community, new opportunities, and the visibility of this sport will encourage more people with disabilities to join and contribute to the development of wheelchair handball.”

The LRF also regards hosting the EHF Wheelchair Handball Championship 2025 as the first step on a hopefully long road for the sport in the country.

“We need to take this debut as a test for ourselves and, having achieved the desired results, work further to be the strongest in the world, or continue working so that our wishes and dreams come true at the next European championship,” Galimovas says.

“So, most of all, I hope that this championship will become a motivation to continue working and expand wheelchair handball throughout Lithuania.”

Photos © Lithuanian Association of Physical Activity for People with Disabilities (LNFAA)