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Olympic Handball Recaps: 29 July (Day 10)

Men's Handball / Pool B Preliminaries

ESP vs. BRA

Spain Keeps Medal Hopes Alive

With a 27-17 win over Brazil on Monday night at the Georgia World Congress Center, Spain kept alive its medal aspirations in handball. A victory over Egypt on Wednesday morning at 10:00 would put the Spaniards into the semifinals.

An energetic and aggressive Brazilian team kept the intensity on in the match, rallying just before half-time to battle back into the contest which Spain (3-1) led at the intermission, 12-10. Brazil (0-4) kept it close at the start of the second half, but Spain widened its lead to 21-15 at 11:50 and eventually to the final margin with 1:14 left.

Leftback Inaki URDANGARIN led the Spanish offense with his six goals. For Brazil, centerback Rodrigo HOFFELDER was responsible for putting seven balls into the back of the net. Helping get them the ball were Spain's centerback Talant DUJSHEBAEV and Brazil's leftback Ivan PINHEIRO each with four assists. While in goal, Jordi NUNEZ collected 10 saves for Spain and Marcelo SAMPAIO had six for Brazil.

Brazil closes out the round-robin portion of the tournament on Wednesday with a match against Algeria.

Final Score: ESP 27, BRA 17.


Men's Handball / Pool A Preliminaries

SUI vs. USA

Switzerland Evens Record; United States Remains Winless

Centerback Marc BAUMGARTNER helped lead Switzerland to a 29-20 victory in handball Monday night at the Georgia World Congress Center. The Swiss (2-2) pulled away from a scrappy American team that played it close throughout most of the first half, before gaining decisive control of the match in the second stanza.

BAUMGARTNER had five goals at the half, as Switzerland led 12-9. Christian MEISTERHANS blocked the goal for the Swiss, earning eight first-half saves. BAUMGARTNER finished with a game-high 13 scores and four assists, while MEISTERHANS posted 13 saves.

The USA (0-4) was looking to get its first win in the 1996 Olympic tournament, and surpass its best-ever Olympic finish when the U.S. team placed ninth in Los Angeles. Leftback Darrick HEATH led the scoring for the red, white and blue with seven goals.

The game was close early, but Switzerland went ahead for good at 7-6 and closed out the first half on a 6-3 run to distance themselves from the home team. For the half, Switzerland shot 60.0 percent and finished the contest at 67.4. The United States never could get back in the match, as Switzerland outscored them 17-11 in the second stanza.

Switzerland closes out the pool play with a Wednesday match against Russia, while the USA's last pool play opponent is Kuwait in the last contest on that day.

Final Score: SUI 29, USA 20.

"We played well in the first half," said U.S. head coach Rick OLEKSYK. "Other teams and referees don't expect us to play well so when we play well, it surprises them."


Men's Handball / Pool B Preliminaries

GER vs. ALG

Germany Holds Off Algeria

Down by one goal with less than :30 remaining in the match, Algerian centerback Salim NEDJEL-HAMMOU had his shot blocked preserving a German victory on Monday afternoon at the Georgia World Congress Center. Germany scored an insurance goal with seconds remaining to post the 25-23 victory, and up its record to 2-2. Algeria remained winless in Olympic competition.

Germany, which finished fourth at the 1995 World Championships, has struggled in Atlanta. Although they were expected to be a medal contender, Germany was eliminated from the medal rounds after losses to Spain and Egypt. Algeria remains on the outside looking in, slipping to 0-4 with one last match remaining against Brazil.

The entire match was tightly-contested with no team gaining more than a three-goal advantage, which happened twice in each half. It was a last-minute German goal just prior to half-time that enabled them to take a 13-12 lead into the locker room. Both teams played equally well throughout the first frame with Algeria shooting 75.0 percent and Germany 65.0 percent.

But, Germany captured the lead in the 11-minute mark taking a three-goal advantage, allowing Algeria to storm back into the match before tying the contest at 23-23 with 1:37 remaining to set up the final sequence.

Statistically the match was evenly played with Germany owning a slight advantage in shooting percentage, while shot attempts, penalties, turnovers, blocks and saves were virtually identical. As well, scoring was evenly distributed for both teams with the match's top scorer, Algerian rightwing Redouane SAIDI tallying only six goals.

Final Score: GER 25, ALG 23.


Men's Handball / Pool A Preliminaries

CRO vs. RUS

JOVIC, MATOSEVIC Come Up Big For Croatia

In one of the most exciting games in the Olympic competition, Croatia knocked the Russian Federation out of medal contention with a 25-24 victory on Monday afternoon at the Georgia World Congress Center. Pivot Bozidar JOVIC's goal with three seconds remaining sent the crowd into a frenzy and erased Russia's hopes to be the first team to win three-consecutive golds while securing for Croatia a medal-round berth.

The win for Croatia moves them to 4-0, tied with Sweden atop Pool A. Both teams will match up for their final pool-play contests on Wednesday at 14:30. Medal-round berths already are locked up for the two squads.

Matching goal for goal, Russia and Croatia each positioned themselves to make the last score. With 10 minutes remaining, Valter MATOSEVIC made the first of his two penalty-shot saves. But it was his second that helped win the match for Croatia. After a penalty on the 6-meter arc with just under 1 minute remaining, MATOSEVIC was substituted into the match with the score knotted at 24-24 and proceeded to stop pivot Dmitri TORGOVANOV cold on his attempt.

Croatia worked the ball around the horn on their final play and after one failed shot attempt, the ball spurted back out and eventually found its way into the hands of JOVIC who slammed it home for the win. The bench emptied as the exultant Croatians spilled onto the court amidst a chorus of cheers from the crowd.

Two different runs started the match, Russia scored the first three goals with Croatia tallying the next four. Then both teams remained within one or two points of each other throughout the remainder of the first half, with Russia leading 13-11 at the break.

Each with seven goals, centerback Valeri GOPIN led the scoring for the Russians, and JOVIC for the Croatians.

Final Score: CRO 25, RUS 24.

"I wasn't thinking about anything," JOVIC commenting on his game-winning goal. "I shot, I did it, I scored a goal. Then everyone went mad."


Men's Handball, Group B Preliminaries

FRA vs. EGY

Egypt Removed From the Ranks of the Undefeated

France claimed sole position atop the Group B standings after defeating Egypt, 25-20, in a matchup of unbeaten squads on Monday morning at the Georgia World Congress Center. The win propelled the French into the medal round and put them in position to claim their first-ever Olympic gold medal.

The two-pronged French attack of centerback Denis LATHOUD and the Olympic tournament's second-leading scorer, pivot Frederic VOLLE, tallied eight and seven goals respectively. Pivot Gueric KERVADEC had three blocks to key the defense, while goalie Thomas SVENSSON had 12 saves.

Hot from the field, France (4-0) shot well in both halves, finishing the contest at 61.0 percent, while Egypt (3-1) struggled to a 47.6 percent day. Rightwing Mahmoud SOLIMAN led the Egyptian attack with five goals, while the squad's leading scorer during the tournament, pivot Amero EI GEIOUSHY, only tallied three points. Abdulrazak ALBLOUSHI led the defensive stand in goal with 13 saves and a 27.1 save percentage.

Egypt pulled out to a 3-0 advantage before France rallied to score the next five goals. The reigning world champions took the lead for good at the 26:06 mark in the first half, owning a 12-9 half-time advantage. However, France was held scoreless during a five minute stretch near the end of the game, and Egypt was able to cut the deficit to 21-19. France recovered to tally four consecutive goals to claim the win.

Egypt will look to qualify for the medal round on Wednesday when they face Spain in a must-win contest for both teams. France's final match is against Germany.

Final Score: FRA 25, EGY 20.

"It's an outstanding achievement to be in the semifinals one day before the end of the group matches," said French head coach Daniel COSTANTINI on his team's advancement into the medal round with an unbeaten record.


Men's Handball, Group A Preliminaries

SWE vs. KUW

Sweden Advances Easily Past Kuwait

Sweden continues to show that it is a front-runner for the gold medal after winning its Monday morning match over Kuwait, 33-18, at the Georgia World Congress Center. With the win, Sweden moves to 4-0 and takes one more step toward guaranteeing a spot in the medal round. Kuwait has still yet to win a game, and dropped to 0-4 in the tournament.

A scrappy Kuwati team battled its highly-ranked opponent throughout the first half, but it could not maintain the pressure, falling behind at halftime, 16-7. Sweden extended its lead to 21-8 after the start of the second stanza, and another run pushed the score to 28-11. Sweden hit the 30-goal mark with over 10 minutes to go in the game.

Rightwing Johan PETTERSSON topped the Swedish scoring with a 10-for-14 performance as the team shot 60.0 percent for the game. Dominant in every phase of the match, Sweden collected 14 assists, 10 steals and five blocks, while giving up only seven turnovers. Head coach Bengt JOHANSSON held several of his top players out to avoid injury. Rightback Mishal ALALI was Kuwait's top scorer with four goals.

A huge matchup which contests the two remaining Group A goliaths, Sweden and Croatia, takes place on Wednesday, while Kuwait concludes its group-play action against the United States that same day.

Final Score: SWE 33, KUW 18.


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


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Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Games involved a crew of 2,100 who worked with more than 3,500 performers as well as thousands of athletes who celebrated on the field of Olympic Stadium.