Home Beach Handball EURO starts new chapter for Türkiye

“We want to start with new power,” says Dayat a month out from the start of the EURO, which will take place from 8 to 13 July. “We want to get back to the old successful days, when we had second in the World Championship, second in the European Championship. We want to come to that point again, and the start will be in Alanya.”

As Türkiye look to the future, Dayat will be relying on a mixture of players in terms of experience and age — some she played with herself in the first decade of the 2000s; others she worked with in her first head coaching role, at the helm of the U19 beach handball national team; and players who are just at the start of their athletic careers. 

“I also invited the young players, who have the opportunity to play in the future for the team. I wanted to make a mix. I believe that with this mix we can be successful. 

“I want to give the young players the impulse,” says Dayat. “The older players will help to grow them up — to educate them on the field in tactical areas, in mental areas, in the team area.”  

As coach of the U19 national team, Dayat led the side to third place at the Beach Handball EURO for that age category in 2013. That was three years after she stepped off the court herself, ending a playing career that included both beach handball and indoor. 

On an indoor level, Dayat played all the European cup competitions, including the qualification stage for the EHF Champions League with Ankara. On the sand, Dayat was part of the very successful national team that placed second at the EURO in 2002, second at the first Beach Handball World Championship in 2004, third at the World Games in 2005 and fifth at the World Championship in 2006. 

“At that time, the Turkish national team in indoor didn’t have success — we didn’t get to play in the big tournaments. But after Peter Kovacs came as the head coach for the women’s team, we achieved second place in the Mediterranean Games,” says Dayat, recalling the close final against France that went into overtime.

Dayat ended her career in 2010, after placing fifth at the Beach Handball World Championship played in Antalya itself. In January 2011, she started coaching, and she is now a key part of a renewed approach to developing beach handball in Türkiye. It has been quite common for players to feature in both the beach and indoor national teams, and now Türkiye hope to achieve new heights — especially in beach handball — by separating the focus. 

At the home EURO, in the women’s competition, Türkiye will play Norway, France and Portugal. 

“I know all the teams. I’m watching the old matches all the time,” says Dayat. “I know how strong our group is, but we want to get out of the group. 

“It will not be easy, the road to be on the top, but I will work and fight for this.” 

Portugal had a breakthrough performance as hosts of the Beach Handball EURO 2023, reaching the semi-finals for the first time. Now, almost two decades after they hosted the EURO in 2004, Türkiye hope to capitalise on the home crowd in the same way — but Dayat knows that this is an area to manage carefully. 

“The effect of the fans will be positive, normally,” says Dayat, explaining that the home crowd can sometimes be experienced as pressure. It is critical that the team can master the use of the support to a positive end. “We have to organise — we have to control that fan support.

“We are at home, but we have to use it perfectly, and think always positively about the effect of the fans.

“But if we can get the work on the pitch together with the positive effect of the fans, we could achieve a good position in the matches. I hope we will do it the perfect way.”

While Dayat naturally targets the best result possible as leader of her team and is focused on delivering competitively, the element of hosting and organising the EURO gives it something extra special. She looks forward to an enjoyable tournament, from which everyone involved returns home with fond memories and a highly positive experience behind them.

“I want to say to all teams that will come to Alanya welcome. They should have a good time. They should enjoy the time,” she says. “[I hope] when they leave Alanya to go home, they will say it was a good organisation, it was fantastic organisation, and I hope to all teams success in Alanya.”

Photos © MSV Photographers (main); Turkish Handball Federation,Maccabi Haarazim Rabat Gan, EHF archive