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The Kielers celebrate their championship on the Mannheim floor
Photo: Uwe Anspach / dpa
THW Kiel has become German handball champions for the 22nd time.
The defending champion achieved a 25:25 (13:12) win on Sunday in the last game of the season at the Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
In the event of a tie with their north rivals SG Flensburg-Handewitt, the direct comparison won after 38 match days was the decisive factor in favor of Kiel.
The runner-up was no longer helped by the 38:26 (24:12) success at the end against HBW Balingen-Weilstetten.
After the end of the season due to the corona pandemic - and the award of the title at the green table last year - the decision was made on the floor this time.
Kiel mostly led the Lions by a narrow margin from the beginning of the second half, but could not break away decisively.
That was also due to the opposing goalkeeper Andreas Palicka, who parried numerous throws strongly.
A good seven minutes before the end, Kiel was behind at 21:22 for the first time since the beginning.
Only when the last shot by Löwen director Andy Schmid missed the goal in the final second, the THW triumph was certain.
Due to the draw, the Kielers were able to celebrate the only title this season, 41 games had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
In the Champions League, Kiel failed as defending champions in the quarter-finals to Paris Saint-Germain, in the DHB Cup in the semifinals to the eventual winner TBV Lemgo Lippe.
"I'm totally excited and very proud of the boys," said coach Filip Jicha after the game in Mannheim.
“We deserve the title.
Now we've got the fourth star for the club.
That is admirable. "
"Body and head are tired"
Flensburg left no doubts about the mandatory win against Balingen-Weilsteten from the start.
After 20 minutes the game was already decided at 18: 7, while SG coach Maik Machulla had said before kick-off with a look at his players: "Body and head are tired."
Ultimately, the runaway victory only had statistical value, because Kiel stumbled at the Lions, but did not fall.
svs / dpa / sid
