{{short description|French handball player (born 1995)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox handball biography | name = Karl Konan | image = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1995|6|3|df=y}} | birth_place = Cocody, Ivory Coast | nationality = French/Ivorian | height = 1.96 m | position = Left back/Pivot | currentclub = Paris Saint-Germain | clubnumber = 7 | years1 = 2015–2022 | clubs1 = Pays d'Aix UC | years2 = 2022–2025 | clubs2 = Montpellier Handball | years3 = 2025– | clubs3 = Paris Saint-Germain | nationalyears1 = 2021– | nationalteam1 = France | nationalcaps1 = 57 | nationalgoals1 = 8 | ntupdate = 14 January 2026 | medaltemplates = {{MedalCompetition|World Championship}} {{MedalBronze|2025 Croatia/Denmark/Norway|}} {{MedalCompetition|European Championship}} {{MedalGold|2024 Germany|}} }} '''Karl Konan''' (born 3 June 1995) is a French-Ivorian handball player for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Konan, Karl|url=https://www.eurohandball.com/en/player/nCboY4M5ZZFKgWUtIeunMQ/karl-konan/|access-date=10 June 2022|website=EHF}}</ref> He is known as a defensive specialist.
Konan was born in Ivory Coast.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Karl Konan|url=https://www.ffhandball.fr/fr/equipes-de-france/handball/a/equipe-de-france-masculine/joueurs/karl-konan|access-date=10 June 2022|website=ffhandball.fr}}</ref>
==Career== Konan started playing handball at Entente Sportive de Bingerville in the Ivory Coast. In 2014 he was spotted at a talent development tournament arranged by Daouda Karaboué and signed by Pays d'Aix UC.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lnh.fr/lnh/news/2017-10-10/decouverte-de-konan-conquerant |title=(A la découverte de...) Konan le conquérant |website=www.lnh.fr |language=fr |access-date=2022-08-24}}</ref> He was named as the best defensive player in the French League in the 2018/19, 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lnh.fr/joueurs/karl-konan |title=Karl Konan |website=www.lnh.fr|publisher=Ligue Nationale de Handball |language=fr |access-date=2022-08-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2022-08-24 |language=fr |publisher=Ligue Nationale de Handball |title=Trophées LNH I Luc STEINS et Lucas VANÈGUE MVPs de la saison ! |url=https://www.lnh.fr/liquimoly-starligue/news/2022-06-10/trophees-lnh-i-luc-steins-et-lucas-vanegue-mvps-de-saison}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>
In 2022 he signed for Montpellier Handball.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.handball-world.news/o.red.r/news-1-1-70-144246.html |title=Neuer Abwehrspezialist für Montpellier HB |publisher=handball-world.news |access-date=2022-08-24|language=de}}</ref> For the 2025-26 season he signed for league rivals Paris Saint-Germain.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.handball-world.news/artikel/paris-saint-germain-verpflichtet-feste-groesse-der-franzoesischen-liga-1053899 |title=Paris Saint-Germain verpflichtet "feste Größe" der französischen Liga |publisher=handball-world.news |access-date=2024-09-25|language=de}}</ref>
===National team=== Konan debuted for the French national team on 2 May 2021 in a 46-30 win against Greece.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lequipe.fr/Handball/Actualites/L-equipe-de-france-cartonne-contre-la-grece-pour-finir-les-qualifications-a-l-euro-2022/1248466 |title=L'équipe de France cartonne contre la Grèce pour finir les qualifications à l'Euro 2022 |publisher=lequipe.fr |language=fr |access-date=2022-08-24}}</ref> His first major international tournament was the 2022 European Championship, where France finished 4th.
At the 2024 European Championship he won a Gold medal with the French team. He played all 9 matches and scored a single goal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://res.ehf.eu/doxtore/TLCEQLGQDD/aWJqnOpQtsdci2TqI54ItQBahSJS-wffQ8ZHaKchcvU |title=EHF Euro 2024: Cumulative Statistics France |publisher=European Handball Federation|website=eurohandball.com |access-date=2024-01-29}}</ref>
At the 2025 World Championship he won bronze medals with France, losing to Croatia in the semifinal and beating Portugal in the third place playoff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sport.tv2.dk/haandbold/2025-02-02-sindssyg-afslutning-paa-dramatisk-bronzekamp|title=Sindssyg afslutning på dramatisk bronzekamp|publisher=TV2 Danmark|first=Oliver|last=Orup Kristensen|date=2 February 2025|accessdate=2 February 2025|language=da|trans-title=Insane finish to bronze match}}</ref> He played all 9 games and scored 1 goal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ihf.info/sites/default/files/competitions/7c2253d6-1efd-4495-b237-6171c39fac97/pdf/FRATOTAL.PDF |title=IHF World Championship 2025: Cumulative Statistics France |publisher=International Handball Federation|website=ihf.info |access-date=2025-02-03}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Sports links}}
{{Authority control}} {{France squad 2022 European Men's Handball Championship}} {{France squad 2024 European Men's Handball Championship}} {{France handball squad 2024 Summer Olympics}} {{France squad 2025 World Men's Handball Championship}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konan, Karl}} Category:1995 births Category:Living people Category:French male handball players Category:Sportspeople from Abidjan Category:Montpellier Handball players Category:French sportspeople of Ivorian descent Category:Ivorian emigrants to France Category:Handball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic handball players for France Category:21st-century French sportsmen
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