Turkish handball is in shock. Cemal Kütahya, captain of the national team, and his son, who is just five years old, come from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The German Handball Federation is also affected by the terrible news.
The handball world mourns Cemal Kütahya. After the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the captain of the Turkish national team was found dead from the rubble. Kütahya's five-year-old son also died. This was announced by the World Handball Federation IHF. "After this enormous and unprecedented tragedy, the IHF would like to express its condolences to the family and friends of Kütahya and also to the hard-hit nations of Turkey and Syria," the federation wrote on its website.
"It is with deep sadness that we learned of the death of Cemal Kutahya, the captain of our men's national handball team, and his son Cinar Kutahya, who were buried under the rubble of their home in the city of Antakya," the Turkish official press release said Handball Federation (THF).
"The suffering of the people in Turkey and Syria is immeasurable," said DHB President Andreas Michelmann at the request of the sports information service: "The death of Cemal Kütayah and his son affects us and the entire handball family. The earthquake reminds us how vulnerable our lives are in the face of such catastrophes."
The 32-year-old Kütahya had last played for the Turkish club Hatay Büyüksehir Belediyespor. He was also one of the best beach handball players in his country, for which he was the top scorer at the 2021 European Beach Championships with 151 goals. In an international comparison, Turkish handball is more likely to be classified as third-rate.
