Ondřej Zdráhala becomes EHF EURO top scorer with 56 goals

Ondřej Zdráhala becomes EHF EURO top scorer with 56 goals

Ondřej Zdráhala has become the top scorer of the Men's EHF EURO 2018 with 56 goals. That's eight more than Valero Rivera, top scorer of the EHF EURO 2016 scorerd two years ago, but still five less than Macedonian Kiril Lazarov scored in 2012.

Lazarov's 61 goals mark the current EHF EURO record for any top scorer. However, Zdráhala has edged a bit closer this week as one goal that had been initially attributed to his teammate, Jakub Hrstka, was scored by Zdráhala instead.

The goal in question was the Czech goal in the 52nd minute in the match against Denmark to temporarily level the result at 24:24. The match was reviewed by the European Handball Federation and the change confirmed by its Competition Commission. 

Zdráhala therefore scored nine goals in the match against Denmark and 56 overall at the EHF EURO 2018.

“I did not come here with a personal goal to become the top scorer. I, and actually all of us, travelled here to achieve a good result as I believed we had a team capable of it. The fact that I am leading the top goal scorer ranking is just an icing on the cake, but the main objective was to play some good handball here and perhaps to finish in the top six,” said Zdrahala.

He became the third Czech player to win the top goal scorer ranking in the EHF EURO, after Jan Filip (1998), Zdrahala’s coach, and former superstar Filip Jicha, who scored 53 times at the EHF EURO 2010 in Austria.