Nikola Karabatic’s career lives on, thanks to a nerve-racking 24:20 win over Hungary, sending them home, booking a quarter-final rendezvous with Germany.
There was an electric mix of nervous energy and excitement in the air as we looked forward to the start of France vs Hungary, a true knockout match on the final day of the men’s preliminary round.
As the French fans got ready to welcome their heroes on court, I noticed Fred Sirieix, star maître d of British TV show ‘First Dates’ and father of diving bronze medallist Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, nearby with a BBC camera crew, seemingly creating a feature on the game and his apparent love for his nation’s handball team and the surrounding drama of a must-win match.
Sirieix was not the only distinguished guest on site, with the more regular faces of Thierry Omeyer and Michael Guigou there to oversee what they hoped would not be Nikola Karabatic’s final handball match.
Gerard in command
Hungary found themselves in a strange position heading into this one. Among their fans for this game were themselves, Germany and people who love chaos, everyone else either wanted France to win or understood the need for France to win. A strange position but one they were probably quite comfortable with.
The first half started smoothly for the hosts with Elohim Prandi looking in the mood as they raced into a 6:2 lead, but they would only score five more in the next 18 minutes and Hungary dug their heels in and turned it into a scrap.
Thankfully for the French, they had an inspired Vincent Gerard in goal, producing a 47% save rate in the opening period as they led 11:8 at the break.
Back in January, it seemed like Roland Mikler’s international career may be over. Here in Paris as a reserve player. He was thrust in two days ago against Denmark and came on late in the first half to help rescue his team’s Olympic dream. With six saves from his first 10 shots faced, Hungary were back in this.
Crisis averted
By the 42-minute mark, Hungary were in the lead and there was suddenly an eerie silence for a moment before it was pierced by chants of “Ria, ria, Hungaria.”
France needed to find another gear and it took them a while as their opponents looked at ease with their role as party-poopers. They relished the feeling that nobody seemed to know what would happen next, relishing the chaos, relishing the fact that France were not controlling this.
France went back to basics for the final 10 minutes, relying on their defence and Gerard to grind Hungary down, then hit them hard down the other end. A five-goal run in six minutes turned the game on its head for the final time and Hungary had no response.
This has been a poor preliminary round for France but it could have been so much worse. The can now look forward to a quarter-final against Germany, backed by 27,000 fans in Lille and another potential chapter in this wild Olympic tale.