There may only be three sides outside of Europe competing in the women’s handball competition at Paris 2024 but it’s a case of quality, not quantity if the opening day results are anything to go by.
Brazil and South Korea scored contrasting but equally satisfying victories over more heralded opponents to kick-start their Olympic campaigns and throw their groups wide open.
Brazil recorded their first victory over Spain in almost a decade with a resounding 29:18 win over a Spanish side who left themselves totally exposed.
Györ trickster Bruna de Paula delivered 6 goals and 4 assists to help drive the attack, while Gabriela Moreschi shut up shop with 14 saves.
Another Györ star, Ryu Eun Hee, led the line for South Korea, who proved they still have what it takes to mix it with the big gals.
Germany responded to a half-time deficit in a nervy game to lead 18:14 with 15 minutes left to play. Seemingly home and dry, what followed was a 7:2 goal collapse that will keep the German players awake tonight and may well come back to haunt them.
But let’s not take anything away from this Korean performance and hope this reels back the years to a time when teams dreaded the uncertainty of facing this side.
Angola did their level best to make it a hat-trick for team ‘Rest of World’ and us handball hipsters, but they fell just short in a solid 34:31 win for Netherlands.
There’s a long, long way to go in the preliminary round but they just got a lot more interesting.