Handball Day 5 Preview

Romania meets France, and Hungary takes on Germany on day five of the Women's Handball competition at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium on Wednesday, August 13.

Russia vs. Brazil

The two teams tied 31-31 in a first round match at last year's World Championships.

Brazil, after a narrow loss of 24-22 to Germany, proved their ability in a tie with European powerhouse Hungary. Meanwhile world champion Russia secured their first win battling down a surprisingly strong Swedish side 28-24 on Monday night after tying 29-29 in their first match against Asian dynamo the Republic of Korea.

Eduarda Amorim (BRA), a sharp shooter who scored 10 goals in competing against Hungary, will be a player to watch. And Russia's most outstanding player was once again right-wing Emiliya Turey. She's now her team's best goal scorer and most effective penalty shooter.

Romania vs. France

France showed low morale on Monday despite a 21-18 victory against Asian champion Kazakhstan. They must improve in both defense and offense if they want to challenge Romania. But the two comfortable wins so far get the team closer to their quarterfinal berths. Right-back Sophie Herbrecht and goalie Valerie Nicolas are players to watch.

Also facing Kazakhstan on day one, but playing in high spirits, was Romania, who cruised to their second win beating China 34-20 on Monday night. Left-back Carmen Amariei was the top scorer, contributing nine goals for Romania.

A tight match can be expected between the two teams. Their quarterfinal match at the 2007 Worlds was tied 31-31 at full time, and it was only in extra time that Romania took the lead, winning 34-31.

ROK vs. Sweden

The Republic of Korea outclassed the 2007 World Championships bronze medalist Germany on Monday, sweeping the European side of the court with a 30-20 defeat. They also tied Russia who grabbed gold in the 2007 Worlds. The Asian team had an impressive shot ratio of 56 percent in the previous two matches.

Losing 30-24 to Hungary and 28-24 to Russia -- both slender losses -- Sweden still lacks a single point, since in both games it was the other side that succeeded in the end.

The only previous match between the two teams at Olympic or World Championship level took place 18 years ago; in 1990 the ROK beat Sweden 34-25.

China vs. Angola

Though showing a promising performance in rattling powerhouse Norway, China was seriously defeated by Romania in Monday's match. The absence of center-back Li Weiwei (CHN) proved to have an impact. African champion Angola, after suffering two defeats, will have no choice but to beat China if they want to stay in the Olympic campaign.

Norway vs. Kazakhstan

It's the first time that the two teams play against each other at a major international tournament. Norway cruised to two easy victories against China and Angola in the prelims with performances that showed they are worthy as a hot medal candidate. Team captain Gro Hammerseng and goalkeeper Katrine Lunde Haraldsen are players for Norway to take pride in.

Kazakhstan also has their "score machine," right-wing Olga Ajiderskaya, who contributed 17 goals in the two matches -- the tournament's best goal scorer to date. But facing another European powerhouse, one player can't make up for the whole team.

Germany vs. Hungary

To help obliterate the distressing memory of losing to the ROK, Germany will do its best to down Hungary. Germany had won their first match 24-22 against Brazil, whereas Hungary only struggled to tie the Pan-American champion.

Center-back Anita Gorbicz will still be the one for the Hungarian side to rely on, while Germany's Grit Jurack is expected to be a major scorer.

Germany has never played against Hungary at an Olympic tournament, but at last year's Worlds the teams tied at 30-30. Four years before, Germany won 30-27, and in 1999 Hungary took home the victory.

Handball Day 4 Review

Six prelim matches of the Men's Handball tournament ended at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, with world champion Germany overpowered by Iceland, European No. 1 Denmark losing to the Republic of Korea and 2007 world silver medalist Poland outclassed by Spain.

Brazil vs. Croatia: 14-33

By taking a comfortable lead throughout the first match of group A, Croatia soared to a breathtaking 33-14 win over Pan-American champion Brazil. It was a one-sided match, with Croatia taking a nine-goal lead in the first half and making ten more goals in the second half. The die was already cast.

Mirza Dzomba, as the top scorer, contributed seven goals out of seven attempts for Croatia, and goalie Venio Losert made a series of excellent saves with his efficiency rising to a 64 percent high.

Egypt vs. Russia: 27-28

Playing a draw with Denmark, Egypt met Russia in the morning group B match and almost evened the game. A last-gasp goal from Russia, though, secured the team's second win in the tournament, mirroring the decisive last-second free throw by Hungary that helped them tie Brazil in the Women's Handball prelims on August 11.

Ahmed El Ahmar became the "score machine" for the Egyptian team and made ten goals out of fifteen tries. Meanwhile Alexey Kostygov was the top scorer with eight goals for the Russian team, seven of which were jump shots from nine meters, as Egypt played aggressively both in defense and attack.

China vs. France: 19-33

The European powerhouse France brushed aside the host team, who are making their maiden Handball debut in the Olympics. Assembling one fast break after another, the 12-goal lead by France in the first half was good indication of their comfortable win later.

France's Nikola Karabatic, Luc Abalo and Michael Guigou were all top scorers for the team with five goals apiece, while Hao Kexin from China also scored five, though out of fourteen tries.

Spain vs. Poland: 30-29

A duel between the 2005 world champion (Spain) and the 2007 world silver medal winner (Poland) resulted in the Spain's slender victory over the European dynamo. The game was really tight with Poland taking a one-goal lead in the first half and a draw of 29-29 in the 56th minutes. A last minute goal by top scorer Albert Rocas (ESP), who formed the wing duo with Juan Garcia, helped the team out of a potential defeat.

The match was played at breakneck speed, with both teams committed to attack. In the latter half Poland seemed to take control of the game, but after a wise time-out by Spanish coach Juan Carlos Pastor, the Polish momentum was somewhat stopped and the situation changed.

Rocas (ESP) scored a game-high seven goals, while Poland's right-back Krzysztof Lijewski and right-wing Mariusz Jurasik scored four goals each.

The Republic of Korea vs. Denmark: 31-30

Denmark, after a tie with Egypt, got edged out today by the ROK; the medal favorite doesn't look in good shape now. Even though the ROK Men aren't as strong as their female counterparts, they had a good performance with Jung Su-young scoring nine goals out of twelve attempts to be the top scorer.

The ROK team's jump shots and clever moves differ from the Danes' way of using strength, size and power.

When a draw was made in the 59th minute and there were five seconds to go, a time-out by the ROK team led to Jung wrapping the game up with a last goal, sealing the victory over Denmark.

Iceland vs. Germany: 33-29

The Handball battlefield is unpredictable, and there was hard proof of this today when 2007 world champion Germany was defeated by underdog Iceland.

The German team got a double hit when right-back Christian Zeitz was sent out of the match early and Pascal Hens retreated half way through with a knee injury. Though Michael Kraus had thirteen goals out of sixteen attempts to be the top scorer and Holger Bitter succeeded on eight out of thirteen tries, the match became one-sided -- for the Iceland side -- with Snorri Steinn Gudjonsson and Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson contributing goals in turns and pushing the score to a 17-14 lead in first half.

The latter half saw Kraus industriously scoring to make up for the gradually enlarged gap, but morale really got low when Hens went out. The die was cast even though Kraus got a goal in the last minute.

Handball Day 3 Preview

The Women's Handball prelims will continue on August 11, with 12 teams competing for eight quarterfinal spots. Powerhouse Russia, after tying with the Republic of Korea, looks forward to their first win in their second match.

Sweden vs. Russia

The two teams will compete in the last match of group B for day three. It has been 15 years since Sweden met Russia in an international tournament. In 1993 Russia beat Sweden 25-19 at the World Championships.

Sweden lost their first match 30-24 to Hungary, principally because of their inefficient attack. World champions Russia had a surprisingly tough start, held 29-29 by the Republic of Korea (ROK). Neither teams got off to a good start, but the 2007 World Champion Russian women hope to grab their first victory Monday evening.

The Republic of Korea vs. Germany

The ROK made an outstanding comeback in their opening match against Russia, and center-back Kim Ona is a player to look out for. Germany's top players are left-back Nadine Krause and goalkeeper Clara Woltering.

Last year Germany managed to beat the ROK, taking a 32-26 victory at the World Championships. The Republic of Korea had won their four previous encounters at international tournaments in the 1990s.

China vs. Romania

Romania had an easy start to the tournament, smashing Kazakhstan 31-19 on Saturday, while China, in their first match, managed to keep up with Norway's level of play for one half, but in the end they went down 30-23.

China only lost 31-29 at the 2007 World Championships to Romania, whereas in their two previous matches Romania finished six goals ahead. Yet it is still anticipated that Romania, as a European powerhouse, might overpower the host team.

Brazil vs. Hungary

Hungary beat Sweden 30-24 in their first match, whereas Brazil lost 24-22 to Germany on Saturday. They will meet in the first match of group B Monday morning.

Hungary has always proved too strong for the Brazilians at international tournaments, winning all four previous encounters, scoring 126 goals while only conceding 84. However, Brazil rattled Germany in the day one match and proved their potential to challenge the powerhouse.

Brazil's left-back and the team's top scorer to date, Aline Santos, will likely be a strong challenge for the Hungarian defense. While Hungary's left-wing Orsolya Verten and the world's top player, Anita Gorbicz, are players to watch.

Angola vs. Norway

The afternoon clash between African champion Angola and European Champion Norway might be a comfortable victory for the latter over the former, given that Norway beat Angola 32-26 in a preliminary match at last year's World Championships.

Angola played a strong first half in their opening match against France but faded in the second and went down 32-21. Norway showed all their class in their first game, beating China 30-23. The Europeans proved they are keen to win a third Olympic medal after two silver finishes (1988 and 1992).

Kazakhstan vs. France

The two will meet in the opening match of group A. France won the only encounter between the two teams at an international tournament so far, beating Kazakhstan 31-20 at the 2007 World Championships.

France has Sophie Herbrecht and goalie Valerie Nicolas to watch. Kazakhstan has to improve, as they went down 31-19 to Romania, but cornerstone Olga Ajiderskaya showed some class, scoring 10 goals in the day one match and might prove a threat to the French team.

France defeats Angola

In the Handball match between France and Angola, held at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium on day 1 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, France walked away with the win, 32-21.

Mariama Signate of France (Photo credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Olympics Handball News (Articles taken from www.beijing2008.cn)

France and Angola are the first two teams to enter the field of play at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium and the home crowd will be eager to see China taking on European powerhouse Norway in the evening as the Women's Handball competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games starts on Saturday, August 9.

Here is an overview of the contenders in Saturday's prelims:

FRA v ANG

A fourth place at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games is the best Olympic result for France so far. Angola came ninth in Athens. Their best Olympic result to date came at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games when they finished seventh.

It's the third consecutive appearance for the French Women at Olympics whereas for the Angolan Women it is their fourth Olympic tournament in a row.

A tight match can be expected as France finished fifth at the 2007 World Championships, only two places ahead of Angola in seventh. But France won both of their two previous matches against Angola at Olympic Games (2000: 29-27, 2004: 29-21)

The French Women's best international result to date came at 2003 World Championships when they claimed their maiden world title. Angola is the African champion. They beat the Ivory Coast 39-27 in the final of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

HUN v SWE

Hungary is an often-seen participant at Olympic Handball tournaments with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games being their sixth appearance.

Sweden this year managed to get out of the shadow of their male counterparts and qualified for the first time for the Olympic Games. Their best international result to date is a sixth place at the 1993 World Championships in Norway.

Hungary's history in Women's Handball has been a quite successful one. They managed to claim nine medals - 1 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze - at world championships, three medals at Olympic Games - 1 silver, 2 bronze - and one bronze at European championships. Their last international title dates back to 2005 when they won bronze at the world championships in Russia.

One of Sweden's key players is goalkeeper Madeleine Grundstrom who plays for Danish club F.C. Copenhagen. She has established herself as one of the premier players in the Danish league, which is regarded as one of the strongest in Women's Handball.

ROU v KAZ

Kazakhstan walked a controversial path to Beijing and their first appearance at Olympic Games. First the International Handball Federation decided to annul both the Men's and the Women's results from the qualifying tournament after an alleged match-fixing scandal. In March 2008 the Court of Arbitration for Sport handed down a ruling that reinstated the Kazakhstan Women.

Romania qualified for the Olympics after winning the qualifying tournament in Bucharest.

Romanian key players are goalkeeper Luminita Dinu and Ionela Stanca, who was named Best Pivot of the 2007 World Championships in France in which Romania finished fourth. In 2005 the team claimed silver at the World Championships in Russia.

Kazakhstan came 18th at the 2007 World Championships. The two teams have never played each other at Olympics or world championships.

RUS v KOR

Three-time world champion Russia (2007, 2005, 2001) is the hot favorite for gold in the Women's competition, especially after Olympic champion Denmark failed to qualify for Beijing.

Russia relies on the strength of goalkeeper Inna Suslina who was rated third most effective goal stopper at the 2007 World Championships, and on the combined force of Oxana Romenskaya and Liudmila Postnova who make Russia's defense one of the toughest to penetrate.

But Republic of Korea is not likely to make it easy for Russia as they also came to Beijing with strong hopes for gold. They finished off the podium just once in their last six Olympic appearances (fourth at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games) and were able to claim gold twice (1988 in Seoul and 1992 in Barcelona).

Out of six matches at Olympics and world championships, Russia could win four and the ROK two, with the last one going to Russia 32-27 at the 2005 World Championships.

NOR v CHN

Norway clinched their place in the final rounds of the Olympics following their triumph at the 2006 European Championships in Stockholm, Sweden. They beat Russia 27-24 in the gold medal match.

Players to watch out for are team captain Gro Hammerseng and Katja Nyberg who was voted Most Valuable Player at the 2007 World Championships.

China won a bronze medal at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games but never got anywhere close to medal since. At the 2007 World Championships in France they finished 21st following a 36-15 win over the Dominican Republic in their classification match.

China is coached by former ROK national team player Kang Jae-Won who was named the World Player of the Year in 1989.

GER v BRA

Starting with the appointment of Armin Emrich as national coach in 2005 Germany's Women's Handball team seems to be back on track after almost a decade of steady decline, including failing to qualify for the 2001 World Championships.

Emrich led the German team to sixth place in the 2005 World Championships in Russia, his team came fourth at the 2006 European Championships and even jumped on the podium one year later, snatching bronze at the 2007 worlds.

The Brazilian defense needs to be on high alert for German right wing Grit Jurack who scored 75 goals at the 2007 World Championships and became the tournament's top scorer.

One of Pan-American champion Brazil's key players is pivot Fabiana Diniz who was among the first Brazilian players to venture into European club Handball.

For both team it's their third appearance at Olympic Games.