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Olympic Handball Recaps: 28 July (Day 9)

Women's Handball, Pool A Preliminaries

HUN vs. USA

Americans Nearly Pull Upset

In a mostly unlikely script, the United States made a furious rally against the No. 2-ranked team in the world, Hungary, but fell short in the final minutes to lose 30-24, in an Olympic handball match Sunday afternoon at the Georgia World Congress Center. The United States, playing before a near-capacity home crowd of 7,063, came within four goals and had several opportunities to close the gap even further in the final minutes. The loss eliminates the U.S. (0-2) from advancing to the medal round, while Hungary remained undefeated (2-0) and remaining in contention for a medal.

Hungary clearly dominated the match in the first half, with its superstar centerback and the tournament's leading scorer Eszter MATEFI who went 9-for-9 and had nearly half of her team's points. Owning a 12-2 early lead, Hungary went on to post a 19-8 half-time advantage, notching an unheard of 86.4 shooting percentage. The Hungarians, who placed second at the 1995 World Championships, dropped to a more realistic 71.4 percent by the end of the match.

The top American duo of centerback Sharon CAIN and leftwing Chryssandra HIRES combined to score 15 of the U.S. goals, proving they could be successful against the best players in the world.

Lackluster in the first half, the U.S came out aggressively after the break and was able to challenge the Hungarians with coach Claes HELLGREN's noted pressure defense. The U.S. outscored Hungary, 16-11, in the second stanza and had the score down to 28-24 with 2:44 remaining. So aggressive was the U.S., that they would pull their goalie and send pivot Laura COENEN into the game with the goalie jersey on as an extra attacker, rushing back to the goal when the situation warranted.

Hungary and the U.S. conclude their pool play contests on Tuesday, playing Denmark and China, respectively.

Final Score: HUN 30, USA 24.

"The pressing really worked," said HELLGREN. "Our run, run, run, style we took from Kentucky."


Women's Handball, Pool B Preliminaries

GER vs. NOR

Norway Earns Medal-Round Berth

In a tightly-contested match played before a boisterous and energetic crowd, Norway pulled away from Germany, 28-23, to remain undefeated at 2-0 and earn a berth in Thursday's semifinals. Germany (0-2) was eliminated from the finals round with the loss.

With the victory, Norway became the final team to earn a medal-round berth as Pool B rival Korea and Pool A adversaries, Denmark and Hungary also remained undefeated and advanced earlier in the day.

The score was tied late in the first half at 10-10, but Norway pulled out to a 5-1 advantage over the final five minutes and led at the break, 15-11. A tough and aggressive contest, the first stanza featured a total of only 11 turnovers, 11 assists, seven saves, three blocks and two steals.

The balanced matchup favored the Norwegians statistically, as they shot 71.4 percent in the first half, including 5-for-5 and 4-for-4 performances from rightback Trine HALTVIK and pivot Hege KVITSAND. Norway finished at 70.0 from the field, with leftback Kjersti GRINI leading the way with 10 goals and three assists.

Germany was able to close the match to 20-18 with 14:54 to go, but could get no closer. The Germans shot 61.1 percent from the floor in the first half and 57.5 for the game as centerback Miroslava RITSKIAVITCHIUS led the squad in scoring with eight goals.

Norway will look to drop the Koreans from the ranks of the undefeated in a matchup of the two teams tied atop Pool B. Germany faces Angola in its final pool-play contest. Both matches are on Tuesday.

Final Score: NOR 28, GER 23.

"We have been looking forward to this game for a long time," said GRINI on her team's performance. "Our goal coming here was to secure a win against Angola, then play Germany. We never looked beyond that game."


Women's Handball, Group B Preliminaries

KOR vs. ANG

Korea Stays Undefeated

Two-time Olympic champion Korea remains unblemished in Pool B action as they decisively defeated Angola, 25-19, Sunday morning at the Georgia World Congress Center to move to 2-0. The score was closer than the game might indicate as Angola (0-2) scored four consecutive goals to cut the Korean lead to five, while Angolan goalkeeper Justina PRACA rebuffed numerous shots to finish the game with nine saves.

Korea's fast-break offense resulted in another high-scoring affair for the blue-clad side. The reigning world champions pulled out to a fast start, leading 15-8 at halftime, largely on the strength of centerback LIM O-Kyeong, leftback OH Seong-Ok and rightback HONG Jeong-Ho. Goalie MOON Hyang-Ja tallied five saves helping to stifle the Angolan offense.

The trio finished with five goals apiece, while OH also added two assists and two steals. MOON also tallied seven saves. After shooting 71.4 percent from the floor at the half, Korea finished the game with a 53.2 efficiency.

The top point-getter for Angola was pivot Elisa WEBBA. As a team, Angola shot well, notching a 57.1 percentage at halftime and a 61.3 percentage for the game, but was outmatched throughout the contest by the quicker Korean squad's offensive proficiency.

Both teams return to play on Tuesday. Korea will face Norway in a matchup of the two unbeaten teams in Pool B, while Angola will finish its round-robin play against Germany.

Final Score: KOR 25, ANG 19.


Women's Handball, Group A Preliminaries

CHN vs. DEN

Big Runs Key Danish Victory

Denmark got on the board first and maintained it with furious offensive bursts to outlast the People's Republic of China, 33-21, to move to 2-0 in Pool A handball action at the Georgia World Congress Center on Sunday morning.

A high-scoring fast-paced first half was punctuated with good passing and numerous scoring opportunities. Denmark's Rightwing Gitte MADSEN's strong early performance included three goals, three assists, two steals and zero turnovers. Meanwhile, China (0-2) was plagued by turnovers, throwing away 14 balls, while collecting only three assists and one steal in the first half. It was Susanne LAURITSEN's nine first-half saves that helped keep Denmark ahead 19-9 at intermission, as they pulled away from a close two-point game over the last half of the first stanza with a 12-3 run.

Denmark built off their half-time lead and extended the score to 23-9 and eventually 28-12 off of a 10-3 run, led by defensive pressure and several fast-break opportunities, before China could mount any kind of an attack. For the match, MADSEN went 7-for-8 with four assists for Denmark, while leftback SHI Wei of China had six goals and four assists to top the scoring for their respective teams. The top keepers for each team were WANG Tao of China with 15 saves and Denmark's LAURITSEN with 12.

The next match for Denmark is Hungary, while China plays the United States. Both matches are on Tuesday.

Final Score: DEN 33, CHN 21.

"We had 20-25 minutes of world-class play," said Denmark's coach Ulrik WILBEK. "That's all you need to say."

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department.


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