Frivolous handball players threaten lightning elimination
Germany's Handballers face elimination at the Olympics. After a disappointing start against South Korea, they aim to make a comeback. The offensive performance against Sweden is better but not good. Two top teams are waiting in the wings.
Second game, second loss - early exit threat for Germany's Handballers at the Olympics. The team, which started with medal aspirations under coach Markus Gaugisch, failed again to convert their chances against WM-Fourth place Sweden, losing 28:31 (12:19).
Just like in the opening loss against South Korea (22:23), captain Emily Bölk and her teammates were too wasteful in front of the opponent's goal. The German defense struggled initially to get a grip on the quick Scandinavian players, but a significant improvement in the second half came too late. Top German scorers were Co-Captain Alina Grijseels, Julia Maidhof, and Jenny Behrend, each with five goals.
With 0:4 points, Germany now faces the wall in Vorrunde Group A. Next opponent is Slovenia on Tuesday (9 a.m./ZDF and Eurosport), which defeated South Korea 30:23 on Sunday. After that, there are matches against World Champions Denmark (Thursday) and European Champions Norway (Saturday). The top four teams from the six-team group advance to the quarterfinals.
Sweden is too strong again
"We'll start anew with Sweden," coach Gaugisch had said before the match: "Everything that was, is gone, and we can't get it back. And we still have four games ahead of us. Sweden is the first benchmark."
Similar to the WM-Quarterfinal seven months ago (20:27), Sweden proved to be too strong. Although the DHB-women held on until the 4:4 mark with a goal from Julia Maidhof (6th minute), they quickly fell behind due to five minutes without a goal. Goalkeeper Katharina Filter also had trouble getting a hold of the ball in the first quarter-hour.
Sarah Wachter came in as goalkeeper, but the defense didn't improve immediately. At the 7:13 mark (19th minute), Gaugisch took the first timeout to wake up his players. However, this made little difference. At the break, Germany trailed by seven goals. The second half began with renewed energy, and Germany even managed to close the gap to four goals at times - but numerous missed shots once again thwarted a potential comeback.
Despite their efforts, Germany's Handball national team suffers a second consecutive loss at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris. The Handball team, aiming to make amends after a disappointing start, faces elimination as their hopes for a medal diminish. With Sweden proving to be a formidable opponent yet again, the Handballers must now regroup and aim for a victory in their upcoming matches against Slovenia, Denmark, and Norway, crucial encounters to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.
