Nikola Karabatić

Nikola Karabatić

Karabatić in August 2015
Personal information
Born (1984-04-11) April 11, 1984
Niš, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current club PSG Handball
Number 44
Senior clubs
2000–2005
2005–2009
2009–2013
2013
2013–2015
2015–		 Montpellier HB
THW Kiel
Montpellier HB
Pays d'Aix
FC Barcelona
PSG Handball
National team
2002– France 249 (1019)
Medal record
Olympic Games
2008 Beijing Team
2012 London Team
World Championship
2009 Croatia
2011 Sweden
2015 Qatar
2003 Portugal
2005 Tunisia
European Championship
2006 Switzerland
2010 Austria
2014 Denmark
2008 Norway

Nikola Karabatić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Карабатић; born 11 April 1984) is a French handball player. With the French national handball team, he has won two Olympic gold medals, which came in the Summer Olympics of 2008 and 2012, three World Championship gold medals, which came in 2009, 2011 and 2015, as well as three gold medals in the European Championship which came in 2006, 2010 and 2014. In addition, he also won L'Équipe Champion of Champions in 2011.[1]

Club career

Karabatić began his professional career at the top French club Montpellier HB. It was there he became the French champion in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 as well as also winning the Champions League in 2003. He then played for the German club THW Kiel, who became German champions in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, and won the EHF Champions League in 2007. In the summer of 2009 he left Germany and returned to Montpellier HB, winning three further French champion titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012. After a quick stay in Pays d'Aix Université Club handball, Aix-en-Provence, between February and June in 2013, he moved to FC Barcelona and then in 2015 he moved to and currently plays for PSG Handball.

International career

He is an Olympic, World and European champion. He first became a European champion in the 2006 European Men's Handball Championship, subsequentially becoming a bronze medallist in the 2008 edition of the championship. He has received two bronze medals at the World Championships, in 2003 and 2005. At the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship, he was voted into the All-Star Team in which France finished fourth. He was also voted into the All Star Team at the 2004 European Men's Handball Championship.

Personal life

Nikola was born in Niš, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Croatian father and Serbian mother. Nikola's father Branko Karabatić, who was also a professional handball player, is originally from Vrsine, a village between Trogir and Marina in Croatia.[2][3][4] In his career, Branko played for the Železničar handball team from Niš, which is where he met his wife Radmila, who is originally from Aleksinac, Serbia.[5] The family moved to France after Nikola's father got a coaching job there when Nikola was 3 and a half years old. Nikola has a younger brother, Luka (born 19 April 1988).[3]

In addition to his native French, he also speaks English, German, Spanish and Serbian language.[6]

Team awards

Club
International
Individual

References

  1. ↑ "2015 World Championship Roster" (PDF). IHF. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  2. ↑ SVI SMO NAVIJALI ZA NAŠU HRVATSKU , Slobodna Dalmacija, July 21, 2003
  3. 1 2 http://www.glassrpske.com/sport/republika_srpska/Nikola-Karabatic-Zelim-zlato-u-rodnom-Nisu/52535.html
  4. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uowbgsk-TaM
  5. ↑ "Код куће говоримо само српски". Ilustrovana Politika. 22 January 2009.
  6. ↑ Video on YouTube

External links

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