Handball 2020 Tokyo Olympic Review

Men’s Event

As expected, the early fixtures saw Europe dominate. Spain had two impressive wins, beating Germany and Norway in Group A. Egypt were the first side to beat a European side, beating Portugal 37-31 and following it up with a win over Sweden. In Group A, France took the group victory over Spain on account of their head-to-head record. Germany similarly took third over Norway. Egypt were a big surprise in Group B, with three wins allowing them to tie with Denmark and Sweden. It came down to goal difference in those games, meaning Denmark won the group ahead of Egypt and Sweden. In fourth, Bahrain knocked out Portugal and Japan on the same count back. France beat Bahrain 42-28. Egypt took the lead in the first half and never relinquished it to Germany. Sweden had the lead at half-time and with fifteen minutes to go, were 29-25 up. Spain scored eight of the next nine and hung on for a 34-33 win. Denmark accelerated in the second half, taking the victory 31-25. The final was between the two group winners as France beat Egypt 27-23, whilst Denmark beat Spain with the exact same score. Spain beat Egypt 33-31 to take bronze. France took the lead halfway through the final and never let up, winning 25-23.

🥇France 🇫🇷

🥈Denmark 🇩🇰

🥉Spain 🇪🇸

Women’s Event

In Group A, Japan managed to upset Montenegro 29-26 in the second round of fixtures, only to go on to lose to Angola and South Korea. The tougher pool was Group B. Sweden started well with wins over Russia and Spain. France defeated Hungary but lost to Spain, whilst Brazil has a draw with Russia and a win over Hungary. Sweden and France played out a draw in the third set of fixtures. In the fourth round of fixtures there were shocks as Hungary beat Spain and Russia beat France, leaving them in danger of elimination. Norway defeated the Netherlands in Group A, to take the group win ahead of Montenegro and South Korea. France defeated Brazil in the final group game, to get into 3rd behind Sweden and Russia. Russia beat Montenegro 32-26 in the opening quarter-final, whilst Norway won 26-22 against Hungary. Sweden had a big 39-30 win over South Korea and France beat the Netherlands 32-22 to complete the lineup. France beat Sweden 29-27 to set up a final with Russia, who defeated Norway 27-26. In the bronze medal matchup, Norway never trailed, taking a massive 36-19 win over Sweden. In the final, it was France who took a 30-25 over Russia.

🥇France 🇫🇷

🥈Russia 🇷🇺

🥉Norway 🇳🇴