So mother, so daughter: Gomel win Belarusian title

Not often a mother and her daughter play in the same handball team. Let alone at the highest level.

But this is the case for 38-year-old Iryna Dronava and her 17-year-old daughter, Katsiaryna Dronava, from Belarusian champions Gomel.

Iryna, a left wing who has been playing for Gomel for most of her career, is already a club legend. She has also been a Belarus national player for many years.

Katsiaryna is just making her first steps at the senior level, and she does not play regularly yet, but the talent is certainly there, and she has been learning a lot from her mother.

“Of course I try to set an example for my daughter. Katsiaryna has always been together with me, she saw how I played in the past and how I play now,” Iryna Dronava says. “I always try to work at 100 per cent at the trainings, and I tell my daughter to do the same. Sometimes I can tell her something in a raised voice, but we never really quarrel.”



After losing the national title to BNTU-BelAZ in 2018, Gomel reclaimed it this year as the team coached by Tomaz Cater became three-time Belarusian champions.

There are no playoffs in the Belarusian league, and the regular season was marked by a tight fight between Gomel and BNTU. In the end, Cater’s team finished four points clear of their rivals.

Photo: Facebook Handball Club “Gomel”