Coach: Berik Beknazarov

 

Key Players: Arukhan Zhanibekkyzy (goalkeeper), Lunara Syzdykova (centre back), Kristina Stepanova (right back)

 

Qualification for Poland 2018: 2017 AHF Asian Women’s Youth Championship – 4th

 

History in Tournament: 2006-2008: DNQ, 2010: 16th, 2012: 16th, 2014: 21st, 2016: 19th

 

Overview

 

Coach Berik Beknazarov takes a relatively-inexperienced Kazakhstan team to Poland 2018, knowing the learning curve will be steep as his side prepares to face Spain in their opening match before taking on regional rivals Republic of Korea – who they lost to 49:16 at the seventh edition of the AHF Asian Women’s Youth Championship in Indonesia in August 2017.

 

After Korea, they face Tunisia, France and then Montenegro and with just four players in his 26-name provisional squad list up to double figures in international appearances it will be a tough preliminary round for the Asian side.

 

Beknazarov’s players predominantly come from a handful of clubs in the Asian country with seven from Kaysar-KAM-KSU HC, six from Astana HC, and four each from Kazgurt HC and Kostanai HC.

 

They qualified for Poland 2018 after finishing fourth in their continental championship held last year at the Popki Stadium in Jakarta.

 

After that opening day heavy defeat against Korea, Kazakhstan drew 29:29 with Uzbekistan before losing to fellow Poland 2018 competitors PR of China, 36:24 and then Japan, 30:19. After a rest day in Jakarta, the Kazakhs came back strongly, beating Indonesia 43:18 and then Hong Kong 40:8 to seal their ticket to Kielce.

 

As the seemingly weakest of the four Asian sides in Poland, Almaty HC goalkeeper Arukhan Zhanibekkyzy will be kept busy by the attacking teams facing her and her defence, while the Kazygurt HC right back, Kristina Stepanova, who has scored the most goals out her squad, with 32 in 10 games, and Almaty HC centre back Lunara Syzdykova, who is the most experienced, with 15 matches under her belt and 30 strikes, will look to lead from the front.

 

Both Zhanibekkyzy and Syzdykova have previous experience of an IHF Women’s Youth World Championship as they both competed in the 2016 edition in Bratislava, Slovakia, where Kazakhstan finished 19th. While goalkeeper Zhanibekkyzy featured for just under 35 minutes in total across their seven games, facing just 24 shots and making three saves, Syzdykova played for a total of nearly four hours in the seven matches, scoring 12 times.

 

In fact, Syzdykova had also appeared earlier in the 2016 summer, in Moscow, Russia, where she featured for the Kazakhstan junior team at the IHF Women’s Junior World Championships, playing for nearly four-and-a-half hours across seven games, scoring nine times as her side finished 23rd.

 

High hopes are clearly expected of Syzdykova in the longer-term in Kazakhstan handball, but her hopes are much more immediate as she aims to lead her team to at least 16th in Poland – to equal Kazakhstan’s best-ever ranking at a Youth World Championship – or higher.

 

Group at Poland 2018

Group D: Republic of Korea, France, Spain, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Montenegro

 

Games at Poland 2018

All times local

 

Tuesday 7 August: ESP-KAZ (20:00)

Wednesday 8 August: KAZ-KOR (18:00)

Friday 10 August: TUN-KAZ (14:00)

Saturday 11 August: FRA-KAZ (16:00)

Monday 13 August: KAZ-MNE (10:00)

 

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Photo: Kazakhstan Handball Federation