Djukic wants to put Great Britain on the world map

MEN'S head coach Dragan Djukic insists he is determined to put Great Britain on the handball map after another encouraging performance at the Yellow Cup in Switzerland.

HIGH HOPES: Dragan Djukic is keen to develop Great Britain's worldwide handball reputation (Getty Images)

Great Britain slipped to a 39-21 defeat in their final match of the tournament against a strong Holland side, having already been beaten by both Switzerland and Tunisia.

Djukic will take heart from his side's final outing however, as Great Britain matched Holland for long periods with Jesper Parker outstanding in goal.

Great Britain have now returned to London for a two-day training camp before heading to Paris for the Marranne Tournament where they will meet Qatar and Tunisia with the possibility of a final match against Algeria.

And Djukic is relishing the chance to test his troops against more high-class opposition.    

"It's great for us to be playing in the Marranne Tournament - it was an invitation we could not turn down," he said.

"It is such a big tournament, and it's great for us to be there as a team, but also for publicity, to let people know that Britain has a good handball team.

"It's important that we're playing African teams who play an open style of handball that is different to the European style which we are more used to.

"We have a young team and we must be patient, but at the same time it's important to give them experience of playing as wide and varied teams as we can."

After the Marranne Tournament later this week, Djukic and his team will select the squad for the World Championship qualifying tournament in Finland from Jan 15-17, where Great Britain will play Romania, Bosnia Herzegovina and Finland.