The newly revamped Handball Winter League kicks off on Nov. 11 at SK Handball Stadium in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul .The handball league, which was held under the name SK Handball Korea League until last season, will be called the Shinhan SOL Pay 2023-2024 Handball H League after attracting an external title sponsor from this season. The opening match between the SK Sugar Gliders and the Busan Facilities Corporation on Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. will draw attention to the presence of foreign players. SK Sugar Gliders’ Ikumi Iwabuchi (Japan) and Busan Facilities Corporation’s Alina Molkova (Estonia) and Joana da Costa (Angola) are the three foreign players in the women’s division this season, and they will face off in the opening match on day one .Molkova and Da Costa arrived in the country in July and have been working diligently with Korean athletes. “My fellow athletes are treating me well, the facilities and training conditions are good, and I’m getting along well,” they said on Aug. 8 at the Korea Gymnastics Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, adding, “The food is generally good, but the concept of ‘spicy’ is not what I’m used to. “Born in 1997, Molkova is a 5-foot-11 left back for the Estonian national team. She has played in the Israeli, German, and Portuguese leagues and led her team to the Portuguese league title in 2022.
She was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Portuguese Cup last year and the Best Women’s Handball Player in Estonia for five consecutive years starting in 2018.Da Costa, a right back born in 1996, has played in the French and Spanish leagues and represented Angola in 2018, leading the team to the top of the African Championship .Da Costa speaks Portuguese, and Molkova also plays in the Portuguese league and speaks some Portuguese, so communication between the two is easy.” With their national team experience, they will add to the team’s strength,” said Busan Facilities Corporation head coach Kang Jae-won. “The newly signed Lee Hye-won is also a player with great potential for development, so we will challenge for good results in the new team colors in the new season.”Iwabuchi, who will play under the name Rei, is a right back who played for Omron in Japan .The former Japan international was selected after training with SK’s sister club Omron .”I was first introduced to Korean handball during a sports exchange I worked on in 2011 when I was in my third year of junior high school,” said Rei, “and I’ve always been fascinated and interested in the fast-paced game.” “By chance, I came to Korea while training with SK this summer, and I will do my best to make SK the best team in the future,” he said. “Ray’s strength is his stable defense, and he also has the ability to play fast and run the game in attack,” said SK 토토사이트 head coach Kim Kyung-jin, “He’s a player who can definitely make it in Korea.”
