For the third consecutive edition of the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, Hungary will feature in the semi-finals of the world handball flagship competition, after securing a 29:24 win in the first quarter-final at China 2024.

In the other quarter-final played in Chuzhou, which threw off simultaneously, Denmark, the most decorated team in the history of the competition, extended their chances to secure their seventh medal, after 25:20 win against Croatia.

QUARTER-FINALS

• Hungary vs Serbia 29:24 (16:11)
• Croatia vs Denmark 20:25 (11:12)

What happened: Hungary are undoubtedly masters at creating young and talented players, but after finishing second at Poland 2018 and third at North Macedonia 2022, they were still missing the gold medal in their cabinet. With their 29:24 win against Serbia, they extended their chances, being the only team so far which put together a six-match winning streak, but the quarter-final against Serbia was far from easy.

At the break, Hungary looked comfortable, with a five-goal lead, 16:11, after right back Virág Fazekas, the top goal scorer of the competition, with 45 goals, had already scored six goals, leading her side once again to a clear lead. But Serbia, a team with a fantastic never-say-die attitude, did not back down. Sooner, rather than later, they bounced back and managed to exert the needed pressure for Hungary to make mistakes.

When Hungary finally cracked, Serbia came at only one goal, 22:20, with 16 minutes to go. But in the end, it was all Hungary. Fazekas finished the match with nine goals, fellow back Renáta Keceli-Mészáros delivered seven goals and four assists, and with a 6:2 run, put together between the 44th and the 54th minutes, Hungary delivered the final blow to the plucky Serbia side, taking a 29:24 win, and making it to the third time in a row in the semi-finals of the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship.

After seven minutes, it looked like Denmark were going to cruise to a big win and secure their seventh semi-finals berth at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, as they delivered a perfect start, creating a three-goal lead, 4:1. Then, Croatia came back and used a 4:0 run to mount a comeback and take the lead. Yet Denmark created another three-goal lead, 9:6, after 21 minutes. The two teams went back and forth, but with Denmark always leading the way until late in the second half.

Croatia’s top two players at this edition of the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, left back Ivana Fratnik and left wing Katja Vuković, were once again their team’s top scorers, combining for 15 goals in the match. However, the lack of depth for Croatia was eventually their undoing. While Fratnik and Vuković missed only three shots between themselves, the other players had 14missed shots. The match was Denmark’s for the taking and the pivotal moment came with 15 minutes to go.

Ditte Alnor Michaelsen scored her only two goals in the match in a 3:0 run which saw Denmark create a four-goal unassailable lead with eight minutes to go, as Croatia failed to score for six minutes and seven seconds. As goalkeeper Freja Fonseca Nielsen had 11 saves for a 35% saving efficiency, Denmark kept their cool and secured the semi-finals berth, bouncing back with their fifth win in six matches, after the loss against Hungary in the last match of the preliminary round.

Stat of the day: 1 – only one of the teams still alive in the competition – Denmark – has won the gold medal at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship so far.

What’s next: Denmark are due to face the winner of the quarter-final between France and Germany, while Hungary are meeting either Spain or Japan in their quest for another world title.