Warsaw, Mar 29 (IANS): Marcin Lijewski has been named as the new coach of Poland's men's handball team, the Polish Handball Association (ZPRP) announced on Wednesday.

Lijewski takes over from Patryk Rombel, who was dismissed following the team's disappointing performance at the 2022 IHF World Championship. Lijewski's primary task will be to qualify for the EHF Euro 2024, reports Xinhua.

The 45-year-old Lijewski, who played 251 matches for the national team, including at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, expressed his gratitude saying, "Handball is my whole life. I'm just starting a new, extremely important stage as a coach of the national team. Thank you for entrusting me with this role. It's an honor for me, but also a challenge, hard work and a great responsibility."

"I assure you that I will do everything to achieve the goals set for me, build a strong team capable of winning over the most difficult opponents and meet the expectations of the president of the ZPRP and fans," he said.