Six more teams sealed their final positions at the 2024 IHF Women's Youth World Championship, as home side People's Republic of China ended the tournament with a victory against the Netherlands and finished 15th, Brazil secured the 11th place after beating Montenegro, and Chile ranked 29th following a hard-fought win over Guinea. 

PLACEMENT MATCH 11-12

• Montenegro vs Brazil 21:28 (10:10)

PLACEMENT MATCH 15-16

• People's Republic of China vs Netherlands 24:23 (13:15)

PLACEMENT MATCH 29-30

• Chile vs Guinea 19:18 (11:11)

What happened: Home side People's Republic of China, which had already secured their best-ever placement at the IHF Women's Youth World Championship, ended their four-match losing run and bowed out in style, beating the Netherlands. Powered by Anne de Boer's saves, the Dutch side were in front for much of the game, with their lead reaching three goals (17:14) early in the second half, but China turned things around, as a 4:0 run between minutes 41 and 46 handed them a 22:19 advantage. The Netherlands drew level at 22:22, but the hosts were dominant in the closing minutes, as their top scorer Zidie Huang netted seven times, and goalkeeper Sitong Huang boasted a 39% save efficiency with her 14 saves.

Brazil improved their ranking compared to North Macedonia 2022, where they finished 15th, as they defeated Montenegro in their last match at China 2024. The teams were level at 10:10 after 30 minutes, and while the European side started the second half better, taking a 13:11 lead, the Brazilians responded with a 5:0 run, as they did not concede a goal during 10 minutes. Montenegro tried to fight back, but powered by right back Andressa Souza, who became their top scorer with seven goals, Brazil enjoyed another 5:0 run, moving the score from 18:17 and 23:17, and ultimately took a clear 28:21 victory.

The Placement Match 29-30 between Chile and Guinea proved to be low-scoring, as both sides boasted excellent goalkeeping: Karina Ulloa and Isabella Gore combined for 13 saves for the South American side, while Guinea's M'mahawa Conte and Aicha Richard registered even more saves, 19. The African team were dominant for most of the first half and led 11:7 before Chile used a 4:0 run to draw level at the break. The tight fight continued after the restart, but although one of their leaders Renata Lizana converted just one of her 11 shots, the Chileans looked better at the crucial moments of the game and earned a victory. 

Stat of the day: 20 – the number of saves made by the Dutch goalkeeper Anne de Boer against the People's Republic of China, but her 47% saving efficiency did not help the Netherlands to win. 

What's next: Eight more matches are to be played at the 2024 IHF Women's Youth World Championship on Friday, including both semi-finals and the Placement Matches 5-8.