Hannover's handball dream bursts: Titleless club trumpets championship title claim

With three teams battling for the championship title, the race in the Handball Bundesliga is incredibly exciting. MT Melsungen has eliminated another contender and confidently stakes its claim to the first title in the club's history.

MT Melsungen kept a cool head in an intense battle for the top spot in the Handball Bundesliga, finally ending TSV Hannover-Burgdorf's championship dreams. With a 29:23 (14:15) win in Lower Saxony, coach Roberto García Parrondo's team maintained its second place in the table and remains level on points with league leaders Füchse Berlin (both 48:10) after the 29th matchday.

"Now we want to become champions," said MT sporting director Michael Allendorf aggressively after the match. MT is still waiting for its first title in its history; on May 29, the North Hesse team will face league leaders Berlin in a summit clash.

Melsungen got off to a strong start both at the beginning and after the break. Hannover was able to counterattack and turn a four-goal deficit into a halftime lead. But after the break, Melsungen found the answer again – the 26:23 goal (58th minute) from right winger Timo Kastening sealed the victory. The German international was the visitors' top scorer with seven goals.

The Hanover team, led by former national coach Christian Prokop, lost touch with the top group with their sixth defeat of the season and, with a current 43-15 points deficit, are unlikely to be in the title race. Five matchdays remain.

In addition to Melsungen, SC Magdeburg also still has a realistic chance of successfully defending its title. Coach Bennet Wiegert's team is third with 43:11 points, but has played two fewer games than Berlin and Melsungen.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the table, SG BBM Bietigheim celebrated a crucial 31:30 (18:14) victory against Frisch Auf Göppingen and temporarily escaped the relegation zone. With a current 14:44 points, the promoted team overtook HC Erlangen and moved into 16th place.