Women's Handball, Fifth-Place Match
GER vs. CHN
China Notches Fifth-Place Finish
The People's Republic of China grabbed the early lead en route to an upset victory over Germany, 28-26, in the fifth-place match on Thursday afternoon at the Georgia World Congress Center. The match was the final contest for both teams in Atlanta.
China scored first and never relinquished the lead, posting a 16-12 half-time advantage, in a virtually penalty-free first half that also featured few turnovers. After jetting out to an 8-4 lead, the Germans trailed between three and five goals throughout the remainder of the half as each team traded scores.
The dynamic duo of leftback SHI Wei and pivot ZHAI Chao led the scoring for China. After tallying seven and six first-half goals, respectively, the tandem finished the match with 12 and 10. As a team, China shot 69.9 percent in the first half, but ended with a 57.1 mark. A strong performance was also lodged by the Chinese goalie WANG Tao, who collected 11 saves.
After a sluggish first half, Germany was able to get in gear behind the play of leftback Franziska HEINZ, who finished shooting 7-for-8. German centerback Miroslava RITSKIAVITCHIUS also added five goals, four assists, and two blocks. The Germans shot well the entire match, posting a 63.2 efficiency in the first stanza and a 57.8 mark for the match.
Germany was able to inch back into the contest late, coming on the heels of runs of 4-2 and 6-3 to close to 27-26 at 2:04. Yet, China was able to ward off the threat and score once more to post the final margin.
Final Score: CHN 28, GER 26.
KOR vs. HUN
Korea One Step Away From Third Gold
A quick Korean squad had no trouble with its semifinal opponent, squashing Hungary, 39-25, in Thursday's second semifinal match at the Georgia World Congress Center. Korea, which has yet to lose in Atlanta, will face Denmark in Saturday's 17:15 gold medal match looking to become the first nation in history (men or women) to win three consecutive Olympic titles. Following the gold-medal match, Hungary will play Norway for the bronze at 15:30.
The tone of the match was set early as Korea pulled to a 11-0 advantage, converting virtually at will. The reigning world champions kept Hungary scoreless for the first 13:31 of the match and went on to score the most goals in the 1996 tournament. Hungary did manage to make a run in the latter part of the half, drawing within seven goals after a 6-2 run, concluding the first stanza down, 19-10.
However, once Hungary got its legs the team was able to make a match of it in the second half, trading goals with the Koreans throughout the stanza. Hungary was able to come within eight points twice near the end of the match. Korea, attempting to slow the pace, was called for several stalling violations, but still managed to collect a few last-minute steals and post a 7-3 run to close out the contest.
Korea completely dominated the match, outshooting Hungary 70.4 to 47.6 in a virtually turnover-free first half that resulted in only 12 give-aways between the two teams. They would finish the match with a 72.2 percent shooting efficiency and had only 12 total turnovers. Hungary also shot well, notching a 55.6 conversion percentage.
Six Koreans scored at least four times, with rightback HONG Jeong-Ho (9-for-12) and leftback OH Seong-Ok (8-for-13) leading the way. OH and HONG also added four and three assists, respectively, while MOON Hyang-Ja kept the ball out of the Korean goal, posting 10 assists. Leftback Eszter MATEFI was the top Hungarian scorer with five points and three assists.
Final Score: KOR 39, HUN 25.
"We have played each other before, so we know what their weaknesses are," said Korea's top scorer, HONG. "We practiced our strategy, and today it worked excellent, so that we could score easily."
ANG vs. ANG
Angola Takes Seventh Place
In the first classification final of the day, Angola captured seventh place in the women's handball competition at the 1996 Olympic Games in its final match of the tournament. Angola used a balanced attack to post its only win in Atlanta, a 24-23 decision over the United States, on Thursday morning at the Georgia World Congress Center.
With the score tied at 18-18 with 8:47 remaining, Angola was able to break open a close contest and take the lead for good :27 seconds later. Centerback Maria JOAQUIM scored what would be the game winner at 2:37 to make the score 24-22. American centerback Sharon CAIN brought the U.S. back to within one point with :49 left on the clock, but it would be their last opportunity to score.
Knotted at half-time 11-11, Angola received a solid first-half contribution from centerbacks Filomena TRINDADE, who went 4-of-6 from the floor, and Palmira DE ALMEIDA who added three assists. The United States' top offensive threat was CAIN, who collected four goals and two steals in the first stanza.
Both teams shot over 50 percent for the contest, with CAIN finishing as the match's top scorer with eight goals, while also adding three assists and two steals. DE ALMEIDA topped Angola's efforts with six goals and four assists. American goalie Laurie FELLNER had 13 saves, while Angola's Justina PRACA had 10.
Final Score: ANG 24, USA 23.
DEN vs. NOR
Denmark Advances to Gold-Medal Match
Top-seeded Denmark breezed by rival and Scandinavian neighbor Norway, 23-19, in the first semifinal match in women's handball competition, Thursday morning at the Georgia World Congress Center.
With the win, Denmark advances to play in the gold-medal match against the winner of Thursday afternoon's Korea-Hungary semifinal on Saturday at 17:15 in the Georgia World Congress Center. Norway will meet the loser of the second semifinal in Saturday's bronze-medal contest at 15:30.
Both teams had strong fan support with the redshirted Norwegian contingent rattling cowbells and waving the national flag, while the Danes, decked out in white, chanted and clapped in unison, throughout the contest.
A 4-0 run to start the match keyed the Danish, who never fell behind and maintained control from beginning to end. A stifling defense led by goalie Susanne LAURITSEN, who had eight first-half saves, did not allow Norway to score until 20:51 remained in the half.
Denmark, which has not lost a match in Atlanta, was also able to generate a successful first-half scoring attack, bolstered by the efforts of leftback Anja Jul ANDERSEN, who had seven goals. Denmark posted a 12-6 half-time lead, tying their largest advantage of the stanza, on the strength of LAURITSEN's defense and ANDERSEN's offense. Norway, which was unable to get anything going offensively, was kept in the contest by the play of its goalie Heidi TJUGUM and her nine saves.
Continuing to pull away in the second half, Denmark led by as many as nine goals, before Norway moved to within four at 1:11. However, the Norwegians could come no closer as time expired. ANDERSEN finished the day with nine goals and three blocks, while LAURITSEN tallied 19 saves. Nine athletes tossed in goals in a balanced Norwegian attack, while TJUGUM made 13 saves.
Final Score: DEN 23, NOR 19.
"We proved that we are the best team, and we have more quality players, and that won the game for us," said Denmark's head coach Ulrik WILBEK. "The way we are playing at the moment, we stand a chance against Korea. I'm not saying that we are going to win, we have a chance."
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