Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-08-23 18:02:41

Gold medalists, the women’s handball team of Norway, stand on the podium. (Photo credit: Li Wei)

Norway defeated Russia 34-27 in the Women’s Handball final to win the Olympic gold medal on Saturday.

The Republic of Korea downed Hungary 33-28 in the bronze medal match.

Gold medalists, the women’s handball team of Norway, stand on the podium. (Photo credit: Li Wei)
Gro Hammerseng of Norway shoots. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Kari Mette Johansen (No. 11) of Norway shoots. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Marit Malm Frafjord of Norway shoots. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Norwegian players celebrate. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Updated: 2008-08-23 17:03:42

Moon Pil-hee rises above the Hungarian defense (Photo credit: Lars Baron/Getty Images)

(BEIJING, August 23) — The Republic of Korea won the bronze medal in the Women’s Handball competition by defeating Hungary 33-28 at the National Indoor Stadium on Saturday, August 23.

After a close game, the ROK sealed its victory with five minutes to go when Hungary lost their focus. With 55 minutes played, Hungary missed two passes in a row and both errors allowed Republic of Korea to make fast breaks and score.

At 31-27 Hungary wasted another attack by shooting straight at the ROK’s goalkeeper Lee Min-hee. When the Asian side scored in the following attack they started celebrating their bronze medal.

The first half of the match saw Hungary taking a quick 6-2 lead, but after a ROK team’s timeout after only six minutes the Asian team scored five goals in a row putting the score at 7-6.

Coming back strong after a time-out, Hungary went to the half time break leading 15-13.

In the second half, left back Moon Pil-hee (KOR) was dominant in attack. She scored 10 goals, six of them sharp long shots from the 9m. Right back Hong Jeong-ho (KOR) contributed eight goals, six of them from 7m penalty shots.

Hungary had to cope without their second best scorer, left wing Orsolya Verten who was injured in the semifinal against Russia and spent the entire match against the ROK on the bench.

Hungary ‘s top scorer Anita Gorbicz scored five goals, but missed six.

Updated: 2008-08-23 15:09:28

(BEIJING, August 23) — Iceland could make history at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the Men’s Handball gold medal match on Sunday by winning the first ever Olympic gold for their country. The Handball final will take place at the National Indoor Stadium against favorite France.

Gold medal match

France vs. Iceland

History may be written in this match. In the history of the Olympic Games, Iceland has never won a gold medal and has made it to the podium only three times for one silver and two bronzes.

France’s best Olympic Handball result dates back to 1992 when they won bronze at Barcelona. They also met Iceland in that match and beat them 24-20.

France dropped only one point en route to the final when they tied 30–all with Poland in their last preliminary match. They beat Russia 27-24 in the quarterfinals and eased past Croatia 25-23 in the semis.

Iceland came third in their group. The Nordic team beat Poland 32-30 in the quarterfinals and crushed Spain 36-30 in the semis.

Iceland can pride themselves on two of the tournament’s three top scorers. Snorri Steinn Gudjonsson has 44 goals and Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson 40.

France’s first choice goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer is slightly ahead of his Icelandic counterpart Bjorgvin Pall Gustavsson. Omeyer has saved 39 per cent of all shots, Gustavsson 33 per cent.

Iceland won the last encounter between the two at a major international tournament when they beat France 32-24 in a group match at the 2007 world championships.

Bronze medal match

Croatia vs. Spain

Croatia missed their chance to become the first nation to successfully defend the Olympic Men’s Handball title when they lost 25-23 to France in the semifinals on Friday. Spain lost their semifinal 36-30 to Iceland.

Even if Croatia wins bronze, it is going to be the team’s worst Olympic Handball result. In their two previous Olympics (Athens 2004 and Atlanta 1996) they won gold.

Spain’s best has been bronze at Sydney 2000 and Atlanta 1996.

The Croatian players are hard to stop when they manage to get the ball to the 6m line. They scored with 43 of 52 shots (83 per cent) from that position.

Croatia beat Spain 31-29 in a preliminary match.

Placement match 7-8

Denmark vs. the Republic of Korea

European champions Denmark lost their first placement match against Russia 28-27 and are now playing for seventh. After having won medals at the last three major international Handball tournaments (bronze at 2006 Euro champs, Bronze at the 2007 worlds and gold at this year’s Euro champs) the team failed to live up to expectations.

The ROK won their preliminary group only to find out that a single bad half in the quarterfinal against Spain and an uninspired performance in the first placement match they lost 29-26 to Poland left them competing for seventh.

Placement match 5-6

Russia vs. Poland

Russia won their placement match 28-27 against European champions Denmark thanks to a jump shot from the 9m line from right back Alexey Kamanin (RUS) with only seconds remaining. Playing for fifth place will still be a disappointment considering two podium finishes in the last two Olympics (bronze at Athens 2004 and gold at Sydney 2000).

Key players are right back Konstantin Igropulo (RUS) who has scored 31 goals and left back Alexey Rastvortsev (RUS) who is the specialist for long-distance shots. He has scored 20 of his 25 goals from the 9m line.

Poland lost 32-30 to Iceland in the quarterfinals and then beat the Republic of Korea 29-26 in their placement match. After a 28-year-absence from the Olympics a fifth place at Beijing would be Poland’s second best Olympic result after a bronze medal in 1976 in Montreal but still falls short of the 2007 World Champs silver medalists’ expectations.

Updated: 2008-08-23 01:46:25

(BEIJING, August 22) — A solid French team beat Croatia, and underdog Iceland overpowered Spain in the semifinals of the Men’s competition at the National Indoor Stadium on Friday, August 22.

Semifinals

France vs. Croatia: 25-23

Les Bleus got the upper hand over former Olympic champion Croatia and advanced to the gold medal match, where they will face outsider Iceland.

Both teams started the first half nervously, before Croatia took a slight lead through a series of goals by star player Ivano Balic. France struggled to get through a tight Croatian defense, although Cedric Burdet scored by long shots and again became the team’s top scorer with six goals.

The second half saw France targeting Balic, using a 5-1 defense to block him. Also, Croatian goalie Alilovic seemed not at his best, saving only 19 percent of shots. “Score machine” Nikola Karabatic (FRA) stood out and gave an improved display, but the most exceptional performance in this match was given by Daniel Narcisse, who nailed two shots at the end of the second half to seal a narrow victory for France over Croatia.

Now Croatia will fight over the bronze medal with Spain, who just lost to a dogged Iceland.

Iceland vs. Spain: 36-30

A bullheaded Iceland team outplayed 2005 world champion Spain and went from a disadvantage position to taking the upper hand. This victory marked their entrance into the gold medal match with Les Bleus. It will be Iceland’s first time playing in the finals in the Olympics.

Five goals in a row from the Icelandic team gave Spain a blow in the first five minutes, forcing Spain to take an early time-out in the first half to readjust the tactics. Duo Juan Garcia and Iker Romero helped Spain make a come back by contributing five goals each.

For the first 40 minutes a focused Spain managed to keep Iceland’s lead at a narrow margin. Later on, Iceland steadily advanced, with left back Logi Geirsson scoring seven goals. The intense game saw a rush of two-minute suspensions and Spain’s Carlos Prieto was sent off court with a red card.

Albert Rocas scored a team-high seven goals out of eleven tries for Spain, while Geirsson and Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson both contributed seven goals for Iceland.

Placement Matches 5-8

Russia vs. Denmark: 28-27

Overturning the result of the preliminary round, Russia defeated Denmark with a narrow margin.

The Russian team will now play in the classification match with Poland for fifth and sixth place, while Denmark will face the Republic of Korea in the seventh and eighth classification match.

The Danes showed little interest in winning in the first half, with goalie Peter Henriksen playing the entire 30 minutes yet saving only 15 percent of the shots. This gave Russia the chance to attack and ensured they had no difficulty advancing. Alexey Kamanin (RUS) was relentless from the 9m line, and Konstantin Igropulo (RUS) often broke through Denmark’s defense.

Denmark put up a good fight in the second half, but it was too little, too late. Lars Troels Joergensen (DEN) was punished with a red card in the last minute of the game, after three two-minute suspensions. Although Mikkel Hansen nailed two goals and made Denmark take a 27-25 lead, Russia pushed forward and leveled the game, and Alexey Kamanin fired a last-minute goal from 9m to secure the win.

Poland vs. the Republic of Korea: 29-26

Poland will compete for fifth place after overpowering the ROK, and the Asian side will face off against Croatia for seventh to eighth place.

The game started slowly, but midway through the first half Poland increased the speed of play and the goal gap, taking a one-goal lead before the break, 15-14. Right-wing Mariusz Jurasik scored a team-high seven goals for Poland and orchestrated the team’s play for the last 45 minutes. Though Poland did not play their best defense, goalkeeper Slawomir Szmal was in form, saving 19 of 45 shots.

The Republic of Korea struggled throughout, but right-back Yoon Kyung-shin gave Poland a wake-up call seven minutes into the second half, when he scored three goals from 9m. He was also the top scorer for the ROK team, with six goals out of ten attempts.

Updated: 2008-08-22 23:12:19

(BEIJING, August 22) — Underdog Iceland will play France for gold, after overpowering Spain 36-30 in their semifinal at the National Indoor Stadium on Friday, August 22.

Iceland started the match with five straight goals, two of them from right-wing Alexander Petersson and three of them from Iceland’s top scorer in the competition, center-back Snorri Steinn Gudjonsson.

In defense, goalkeeper Bjorgvin Pall Gustavsson (ISL) made two good saves in the first two minutes.

After an early time-out Spain readjusted, and after 16 minutes they leveled the game at 9-9, thanks to left-wing Juan Garcia and left-back Iker Romero, who had free access to the 6m line, both scoring five goals each.

Iceland’s defensive errors made it possible for Spain to stay in the game for the first 40 minutes. After that Iceland pulled away, with left-back Logi Geirsson scoring seven goals, six of them from 9m.

The tense game prompted a rush of two-minute suspensions, 14 in total (nine from Iceland and five from Spain). After receiving his first suspension in the first half and another one early in the second half, Spain’s Carlos Prieto was red-carded 10 minutes before full time.

Iceland will meet France in the gold medal final on Sunday, August 24.

Updated: 2008-08-22 22:15:36

(BEIJING, August 22) — A superb display from Daniel Narcisse carried France to a 25-23 victory over defending champions Croatia in the first Handball semifinal at the National Indoor Stadium on Friday.

Narcisse, ably assisted by left wing Michael Guigou, dominated play and scored six goals, including a flying jump shot in the last minute to clinch France’s place in the gold-medal match.

Both teams started the first half nervously before Croatia began to get the upper hand. Their star player Ivano Balic showed he was fully recovered from his recent injury by scoring three goals in the first period.

France struggled to get through a tight Croatian defense, although France’s Cedric Burdet had success with long shots from the nine-meter line, firing six past the Croatian goalkeeper Mirko Alilovic.

After the break, France targeted Balic and used a 5-1 defense to contain him. Balic did not manage to score in the second half and attempted only two shots.

Croatia goalkeeper Alilovic made the job a little easier for the French, saving just 19 percent of shots. Three of the goals came from Nikola Karabatic of France, who gave an improved display after a disappointing performance in the quarterfinal.

Centre back Bertrand Gille, also from France, sat on the bench for most of the second half to avoid a red card after receiving a pair of two-minute suspensions in the first half.

France swept to victory without him and will face either Iceland or Spain in Sunday’s final.

Updated: 2008-08-22 18:43:30

(BEIJING, August 22) — For the third time in a row, Norway and Russia will battle for a medal in a Women’s Handball final, this time for an Olympic gold at the National Indoor Stadium on Saturday, August 23.

The finely-balanced teams clashed in the 2006 European Championships, when Norway won and at the 2007 World Championships final when Russia got an overturn.

Placement match 7-8

Sweden vs. Romania

After winning four of their five preliminary matches, Romania disappointed on Thursday by losing 36-34 to France after double extra time. Romania placed fourth in the 2007 World Championships and has one of the tournament’s best goalkeepers, Luminita Dinu, who has saved 41 per cent of shots. The team prides itself on right wing Ramona Maier, the tournament’s top scorer with 53 goals, but its overall performance has not been as good as that of a few individuals.

Sweden lost their first placement match 20-19 against China on Friday. Left wing Matilda Boson said the match was one of Sweden’s worst performances in years. They scored with less than every second shot (45 per cent) and only succeeded with four of seven fast breaks. However, this is Sweden’s Olympic debut and performances in preliminaries against teams like Germany or Brazil made them worthy of competing for fifth place. Their best goal scorer is left back Linnea Torstenson, with 36 goals, and the team is one of the most efficient from the 6m line. They scored with 36 of 48 attempts (75 per cent).

Placement match 5-6

China vs. France

China beat Sweden 20-19 in their first placement match and could repeat their Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games result, when they finished fifth. China’s player of the match against Sweden was 21-year-old left back Wang Shasha, who scored five goals. Pivot Liu Yun has scored 28 goals in the tournament and is the team’s 7m penalty specialist, with 14 goals from 21 attempts.

France lost 32-31 to Russia in double extra time in the quarterfinals but, again after double extra time, managed to vanquish Romania 36-34 in that placement match. Only two on-field players left in the French team have scored fewer than 10 goals.

Bronze medal match

The Republic of Korea vs. Hungary

The ROK lost their semifinal 29-28 against European champion Norway with a goal on the fulltime buzzer from Norway’s centre back, Gro Hammerseng. Left back Moon Pil-hee (KOR) scored nine goals. Moon has contributed a lot to her team’s success in this tournament, scoring 32 goals and assisting in another 22.

Hungary lost their semifinal 22-20 against world champion Russia on Thursday night. Russia led by seven goals after 25 minutes but Hungary fought their way back, narrowing the gap to two goals. Centre back Anita Gorbicz (HUN) missed three of five 7m penalties in the match against Russia, a field that is usually one of her strengths, but she remains the team’s top scorer with 44 goals, 15 of them penalties.

Gold medal match

Norway vs. Russia

The two European powerhouses were the strongest teams in the competition. Russia lost only one point in the preliminaries when they tied with the ROK. They had a tough time in the quarterfinals, needing double extra time to see off France. They then cruised to a relatively convincing 22-20 victory against Hungary in the semifinals.

Norway has won all their seven competition matches, scoring 214 goals with 352 shots, and a 61 per cent shot efficiency that makes them a most dangerous side in the tournament.

Key players on the two teams are Hammerseng, Kari Mette Johansen (NOR), Katrine Lunde Haraldsen (NOR), Natalia Shipilova (RUS), Emiliya Turey (RUS) and Liudmila Postnova (RUS).

Team statistics veer slightly in Norway’s favor; they are more efficient from the 6m line and scored 73 per cent of their chances compared to 67 per cent for Russia. Both teams have scored 50 times with long distance shots from the 9m line, but Norway show far more poise from the 7m line, succeeding with 17 from 23 penalties against Russia’s 26 from 45 attempts.