Great Britain call for Hawks duo

Jamal Braithwaite: joins Stefan for the European Open handball tournament.

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HANDBALL:

TWO North East Manchester Hawks players will represent Great Britain in the European Open handball tournament in Sweden.

Jamal Braithwaite, who attends Oldham Sixth Form College and former OSFC student Stefan Whaley, now studying at Leeds Carnegie University, have made the squad for a tough test against the continent’s elite under-19s squads.

Right-winger Jamal and Stefan, a playmaker centre, both picked up the game in a pilot project at Royton and Crompton School and went on to develop their skills with NEM Hawks coach Donna Hankinson.

This week the pair joined up with the squad at Stanstead airport before flying out to the European Handball Academy at Aarhus, Denmark to train before travelling to Gothenburg for the tournament on June 29.

There they will be put to the test in group matches against Norway, Isreal, Portugal, Iceland and Austria.

Many of the nations represented play at professional level, giving the GB team a tough challenge.

NEM Hawks coach Hankinson said: “We are very proud of both players. We have girls players Ellie Whitehead and Beth Wilbraham who have stepped up to GB level and now we want to use them as role models for younger players learning the game.”