In the Practice Match, Women's Handball Team Beats Spain and Continues Good Momentum... First Game Against Norway on the 25th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The women's handball national team is beginning its challenge to win an Olympic medal for the first time in 13 years.

Led by head coach Kang Jae-won, the team will play Group A matches sequentially against Norway, the Netherlands, Japan, Montenegro, and Angola.

In women's handball, twelve participating countries are divided into two groups for the group stage, after which the top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, where the medal winners are decided through a knockout tournament.

Korea will play its first match against Norway at 4:15 PM on the 25th, followed by a match against the Netherlands at the same time on the 27th. These two early matches are crucial, as Norway and the Netherlands are considered the 'top two' teams in Group A based on objective strength.

Coach Kang Jae-won emphasized, "Winning at least one of these two matches is necessary to secure a favorable position in the quarterfinal knockout stage."

Norway won gold medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics and earned a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The Netherlands has placed third or higher in the last three World Championships, finishing as runners-up in 2015, third in 2017, and winning the championship in 2019.

After arriving in Japan, the Korean team maintained good momentum by winning a practice match against Spain, the 2019 World Championship runners-up, 20-18 in two halves of 20 minutes each, ahead of their first Olympic match.

Coach Kang stated, "Our young players have prepared well to adapt to the global trend of fast-paced handball, and we are determined to overcome the disappointment of finishing fourth at the 2012 London Olympics in this tournament."

Korean women's handball won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, placed fourth in London 2012, and was eliminated in the group stage at Rio 2016.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.