It was a start with twists and turns in the final day of the preliminary round of the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, as Serbia dealt Sweden their first loss, 29:25, and progressed to the main round, while Croatia and Montenegro drew, 18:18, both going on with a point in the main round.
The highest-scoring performance of any team in the history of the competition was recorded by the Republic of Korea, which did enough to ensure safe passage if Japan lose against the Netherlands, with a 66:17 win against Canada.
GROUP A
- Austria vs Chile 35:23 (20:12)
- Serbia vs Sweden 29:25 (13:11)
GROUP B
- Nigeria vs Angola 29:21 (11:9)
- Croatia vs Montenegro 18:18 (8:9)
GROUP C
- Republic of Korea vs Canada 66:17 (37:9)
What happened: The first five matches of the last day of the preliminary round of the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship saw Groups A and B end on a high, while in Group C, the Republic of Korea secured their maiden win against Canada, enhancing their chances to progress to the main round.
Austria looked set to snatch their maiden main round berth at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, taking their second win of the competition, 35:23, against Chile. All of the 14 players from the European side scored at least one goal, in a one-sided match, where Austria led from start to finish, taking a 20:12 lead at the break and never looking back until they clinched a 35:23 win, their largest ever in the competition, one which seemed to deliver a main round berth, before Serbia faced Sweden in the second match of the day.
For Austria to qualify, they needed Serbia to lose or draw against Sweden and for the first 20 minutes, the Scandinavian side were pretty comfortable in the match. Only that Serbia always prove they have firepower and grit whenever they need it, and this was once again on display. It was a virtually flawless display from the Serbian side, which had Milica Otašević in fantastic form, scoring 12 goals, to dominate Sweden. In the end, Serbia delivered a 29:25 win, a four-goal win which saw them finish second in the group, but take the two points into the main round, which will be a fiery one, with Sweden, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro all vying for two quarter-finals spot.
In Group B, the battle for the first place in the group and the recipient of the two points to be taken into the main round between Croatia and Montenegro provided a fiery clash, with both sides giving everything on the court. It turned out to be a low-scoring affair, with seven suspensions raked up by the two sides in the first half only. And for some moments, it looked like Montenegro had the edge. For 14 minutes and 29 seconds, Croatia failed to score and Montenegro went up on a 8:0 unanswered run, which is usually enough to win a match. Only that this time, it was not. Croatia threw off the second half with a 6:2 run, pushed by Ivana Fratnik, who had seven goals in the match, and led by three goals in the 41st minute, 14:11. However, Montenegro still managed to bounce back and take the game to Croatia, eventually tying the score, 18:18, with five seconds to go, when Ksenija Gasević scored the decisive goal, as both teams finish with five points in the group and take one point in the main round.
In the other match, the Republic of Korea faced a must-win situation against Canada, but also needed help from the Netherlands against Japan, as any point secured by their fellow Asian side would have seen Japan through. Korea were 46 goals down in the goal difference table, after their draw against Japan, so they needed to cancel that margin and set up on a record-setting mission, delivering a superb attacking performance and breaking a few records in the process. First, they scored 37 goals in the first half, beating the previous record at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship by 11 goals. Then, it got worse for Canada. Korea forced their way through to a 66:17 win, scoring the largest number of goals in the history of the competition by a mile, with the previous record set by Denmark, 60, against Uzbekistan, in 2014. Eventually, Korea secured the needed gap, six goals, with their win, now hoping that Japan lose against the Netherlands to help them progress to the main round.
But the highlight of the group was definitely Nigeria’s win against Angola, in the African derby of the day. Debutants at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, Nigeria had previously lost their first two matches and had scored only 20 goals, beating that total by nine goals in their last match of the group, against Angola. Chidera Ogbusimba scored eight times, while Amarachi Oparaugo added five more goals for Nigeria, which delivered a fantastic performance, despite having only 13 players on the scoresheet. Having previously won against Angola in the bronze medal match at the 2023 CAHB African Women’s Youth Handball Championship, Nigeria doubled down on that performance and went down only three times in the first half, dominating the second half with ease, as Angola turned the ball over 24 times. In the end, Nigeria secured a 29:21 win, their maiden in the history of the competition, which means they will start the President’s Cup with two points.
Stat of the day: 66 – 11 teams had previously scored 50 goals or more at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, with the record set by Denmark against Uzbekistan in 2014, 60 goals. Spain had scored 59 against Thailand, with Russia putting 57 past the Asian side in 2020. Korea’s record was 57 goals against Qatar in 2008. But now, everything is topped by the superb performance from the Asian side, with 66 goals, the best-ever at this level in the competition.
What’s next: The composition of group I of the main round is now complete. Serbia, which will play against Croatia and Montenegro, have two points, followed by the two sides, with one point. Sweden, which conceded a 25:29 loss against Serbia in the last match, will now have a mountain to climb, starting with zero points.
