(30 July 1996; Day 11)
The two-time Olympic champion, Korea will look to become the first team to win three-consecutive gold medals when the women's handball playoffs begin on Thursday morning. Group A winner Korea (3-0) and Group B champion Denmark (3-0) enter the medal rounds as the top seeds.
Korea, will face Hungary at 16:15, in a rematch of the 1995 World Championships in which Korea emerged victorious. In the other matchup, Denmark, third at the 1995 worlds, will play Norway, the 1992 Olympic silver medalists, at 11:45. All four teams will vie for berths to Saturday's gold medal match at 15:30. The losers will meet in the tournament's final contest following the championships at 17:15, with the medal ceremonies to follow at the conclusion of the bronze-medal match.
The fifth and seventh-place contests will also take place on Thursday, with the seventh-place match set between Angola and the United States at 10:00. The fifth-place contest between Germany and China starts at 14:30.
Korea will look to defend its title based on the play of the tournament's fourth leading scorer, centerback LIM O-Kyeong who is averaging 7.0 goals per game and is shooting 70.0 percent from the field. Joining LIM in the offensive attack is leftback OH Seong-Ok also a scoring threat, but known more for her passing abilities. OH ranks second in assists in the 1996 Games averaging 4.0 assists per contest.
Defensively, Korea's goalkeeping is split between two of the top netminders in the Games. OH Yong-Ran is the top-ranked keeper in save percentage with a 52.0 shot-stopping efficiency, while MOON Hyang-Ja has 20 saves in three matches.
Denmark will rely upon the abilities of its top all-around performer, leftback Anja Jul ANDERSEN, who is among the leaders in scoring, assists, blocks and steals. The goalkeeping duties are the responsibility of Susanne LAURITSEN, who is second in save efficiency at 39.79 percent.
Norway (2-1), whose only loss came at the hands of Korea, 25-21, will be led by leftback Kjersti GRINI and rightback Trine HALTVIK, both of whom rank among the top scorers at the Olympic Games. GRINI, is tied atop the list with 27 goals and a 9.0 per game average and is also first in steals with 2.0 per game, while HALTVIK is seventh in scoring with a 5.33 per game average.
Hungary (2-1), another high-scoring team, will be led by the play of its superstar, centerback Eszter MATEFI, who is tied with GRINI for top honors in scoring. MATEFI is not the lone offensive option for the Hungarians. Pivot Erzsebet KOCSIS has only missed one of her 15 attempts in the Olympic tournament. KOCSIS' efficiency is even more amazing because she has taken no penalty shots. Centerback Aniko NAGY anchors the defense, as she leads all athletes with a 2.0 blocks per game average.
In the fifth-place matchup, Germany (1-2), who lost the bronze-medal match in 1992 to the Unified Team, will meet China (1-2). Germany's top scorer is leftwing Emilia LUCA who has tallied 14 goals, while China's top threat is the tandem of leftback SHI Wei and pivot ZHAI Chao, each with 19 goals in Atlanta.
The home team, the United States (0-3) and its top performer, leftwing Chryssandra HIRES (7.3 goals per game) will play Angola (0-3), led by pivot Elisa WEBBA (14 goals, 73.68 shooting percentage, 1.66 blocks per game) for seventh-place.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Brad Laux.
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| The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July). |