HK Malmö defeated Alingsås 35–27 in the handball league and saw eight players selected for Swedish national teams, including EM standouts Nikola Roganovic and Felix Montebovi. Coach Zoran Roganovic sees it as a boost for young talents amid the club's focus on local development.
HK Malmö secured a 35–27 victory over Alingsås on March 10 and confirmed eight players called up to various Swedish national handball teams following the next round. Selections span the senior team, league team, and U20 team, including Nikola Roganovic and Felix Montebovi—heroes of Sweden's EM opener win in January—for the senior/EM squad, as well as Ebbe Håkansson and Isak Persson for the league team.
Coach Zoran Roganovic expressed pride: "It sends strong signals to many other young players who are developing, because in HK Malmö there is enormous potential." He emphasized the club's strategy of nurturing local talents over signing stars, given league economics: "We must find talented players who can be developed further. Then we can offer a good environment instead of big contracts."
Tim Hilding, 25, from Ljunghusens HK, will debut for the league national team on March 19 against Iceland. "You feel like you're in the mix a bit. That they see you as a potential national team player," he said. Despite the call-ups, he expects the short break not to disrupt HK Malmö's momentum.
Currently second in the regular season with rising attendance (though only 866 watched the Alingsås game due to competing events), Roganovic jabbed at skeptics: "There is huge potential in this team. We saw what others couldn't see."
The EM experience for Roganovic and Montebovi, though tiring, proved enriching, further validating HK Malmö's youth pipeline.
