Two years ago, he had to miss the Handball Euros because of a vicious attack in which he was stabbed. At that moment, there was a big question mark hanging over Elohim Prandi’s career. However, he was fortunate in his misfortune then, managing to make an early comeback and shoot France to the title at this year’s European Championships with brilliant performances in the medal matches.
New Year’s Eve 2021 was a life-changing event for Prandi. In Paris near the Champs-Élysées, he went with his mother and two friends to a private event that could have had fatal consequences for him.
“Due to a misunderstanding and a spilled bottle, I was suddenly attacked by a group of people. I’m not someone who looks for trouble, but I had to defend myself,” the French handball player recounted afterwards.
“I don’t know what was going through the mind of the boy who attacked me, but he suddenly came and stabbed me six times in the back,” he continued in the chilling description.
At that time, the French national team was preparing for the upcoming European championship in Hungary and Slovakia. Prandi was absent in the preparation due to a positive test for the coronavirus, he was already expected for the tournament.
But after the vicious knife attack, handball went by the wayside.
“Then when I found out what happened, my first reaction was that I f*cked,” Prandi recalled. “I was extremely lucky that the blows did not hit the lungs, spleen or other organs. It was said to be very close,” he added.
The first thoughts of the native of the south of France, who was then 23 years old, were that the likelihood of a return to handball was slim. However, after several examinations, the doctors assured him that it would be possible.
And in a few months, Prandi was back in the Paris St. Germaine.
“I made it a point to accept it as quickly as possible. It wasn’t easy every day, but I tried to keep a positive attitude. That’s always better than having some regrets,” stated Prandi.
He also returned to the national team and won a silver medal with him at the world championships in Sweden and Poland last year. The Danes were overpowered by the French team until the final.
In the continental tournament, which, for example, the former Czech national team member Karel Nocar sees as the hardest in the world, this year France with Prand in the lineup reached the top step in Germany.
The shapely 25-year-old striker contributed 22 goals and achieved his greatest performances in Friday’s semi-final against the Swedes and in Sunday’s final – just like at the World Cup – against Denmark.
So this? ???? France’s Elohim Prandi scored in the last second of the European Championship semi-final from a nine-meter throw with an incredible volley and sent the match to overtime. ???????????? In it, France won 34:30 and will play for the gold. ????pic.twitter.com/Q1VcVRBIVB
— Livesport.cz (@LivesportCZ) January 26, 2024
In the semifinals, his pumice stones helped in moments when the French were pulling the short end of the stick. And especially in the last second of the second half, when Prandi went for a shot from ten meters against the Swedish wall at 26:27.
Some players on the substitutes’ bench, including coach Guillaume Gille, did not believe that he could hit from this position and send the lost game to overtime.
But Prandi swerved to the right, burned through the Swedes’ wall, and the surprised Andreas Palicka in the goal had no chance to react. The ball bounced off the crossbar and into the net, and France turned the game around in extra time.
“He could try 10,000 shots at home for a shot like that and he probably wouldn’t make many of them. Today is one of those days when he was able to do it,” marveled coach Gille.
“One of the craziest goals I’ve ever seen. Especially in the context that it was a Euro semi-final. In fact, it might be the best goal I’ll ever see in my career,” thought French goalkeeper Samir Bellahcene.
“It’s simple, I didn’t see the ball at all. And when it’s such a bomb with a speed of 118 kilometers per hour, you can’t react at all,” shrugged his counterpart Palicka, a Swedish regular with roots in the Czech Republic and at the same time Prandi’s clubmate from PSG.
“I knew I had to get over the block, aim at the right moment and shoot as hard as I could. I just prayed that it would go into the net,” said the happy author of the miracle shot.
The Swedes issued a protest even after the match, according to them Prandi’s goal was not according to the rules. That he stepped to the right with his right foot is fine, but it bothered them that he also lifted his left foot off the ground before releasing the ball. The strange thing was that the judges didn’t go to watch the video at all.
However, the European Handball Federation rejected the protest to the displeasure of the Swedes.
Even the final did not go according to the expectations of the French in the second half, as the favored Danes ran away to a blockbuster 17:14. In the 53rd minute, Prandi equalized at 24:24, and the dramatic conclusion ended with the result 27:27.
In overtime, France led 31:30, but half a minute before the end, they were flagged for passivity. If the ball was lost, the opponent could equalize, but Prandi took the brunt of the moment and ended the convulsive attack with an elusive shot.
The Danes then reduced the score with a curious shot, but at the very end they could not get to the ball. Prandi, whose goal was ultimately golden, dribbled and sent Yanis Lenne on the run, which sealed the final result 33:31.
“He is such a fearless player who shoots from all positions,” Czech TV handball expert Jan Landa characterized Prandi’s game during the semifinals.
Two years ago, Prandi was lucky in misfortune, now he has contributed in no small measure to the fact that the reigning Olympic champions, the French, also returned to the European throne after ten years.
