Indira Kastratović: from Kometal champion to coordinator ahead of Women's Handball Forum in Ohrid

Indira Kastratović remains one of North Macedonia's most prominent figures in women's sport — a former champion whose achievements still mark the nation's sporting memory. A member of the Kometal Gjorche Petrov side that won the Champions League in 2002, Kastratović was also the top scorer for the Macedonian national team at the 1997 World Championship in Germany with 71 goals, helping the team to a historic seventh-place finish.

Speaking ahead of the first Women's Handball Forum in Ohrid, to be held on September 26, 2026, at SC "Biljanini Izvori", Kastratović reflected on moments that defined her career and on the tasks she has taken on since retiring from club play. She is a member of the EHF Hall of Fame and currently serves as coordinator of all women's national handball selections for the Handball Federation of North Macedonia.

From memories of 2002 to a clear view of today's game

Recalling the Champions League finals against Ferencváros in 2002, Kastratović said: "Those were, without doubt, the final matches of the Champions League against the Ferencváros team from Budapest in 2002. The years of hard work by everyone at Kometal Gjorče Petrov were rewarded with a wonderful atmosphere before the return leg across Macedonia. On the day of the match, the energy in the Kale Sports Hall and on the square provided extra motivation for all of us to give our maximum and win the trophy. To be a winner and to stand on the podium and speak in front of a twenty-thousand-strong crowd is something I will remember for the rest of my life."

On the differences between her generation and today's teams she observed: "If we talk about handball at a global level, the difference, in my view, is in the creation of a kind of automation of team play, with a low level of individual creativity. Also, the high intensity of today's handball is a reason for a large number of technical errors in every match."

As coordinator, Kastratović laid out practical priorities: "The first thing that needs to change is the level of financial investment in women's handball, in club infrastructure and the quality of coaching staff in the youngest club generations. Time is an extremely important factor in creating quality." She added that talent is not the problem — "Talented girls exist in every handball environment. Their development depends on their commitment to club training and matches... Without quality work at clubs there will be no quality national teams."

Kastratović will appear as one of five panellists at the Ohrid forum to share her experience with young players. "I intend at this Forum to share my handball story with others. My intention is, by telling my own career, to explain that each of us, coming from a handball province, with much effort, sacrifice and dedication, can reach the greatest handball heights," she said. Asked whether young players should choose handball, she answered: "My answer is: of course it is worth it, if you are prepared to devote yourself to it unreservedly!"

The editorial team thanks the Handball Federation of North Macedonia and the Basketball Federation of North Macedonia for opening their doors to the "Women's Sports Stories" project, and acknowledges partner Triglav Life Insurance AD Skopje for support.

Photo: press material from the event