A subpar start was quickly turned around by Sweden, which delivered their maiden win at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, 38:24, against the vs People’s Republic of China.

GROUP E
Sweden vs People’s Republic of China 38:24 (19:13)

An ambitious People’s Republic of China team threw off the match against Sweden in style, constantly keeping the gap under the lid, with a pacy style and a strong defence matching the European powerhouse throughout the first 25 minutes of the match.

Indeed, it was Sweden, which constantly rotated their players to give them more rest, which was leading, but China, led on the bench by Suzana Lazovic, a silver medallist with the Montenegro team at the London 2012 Olympic Games, exterted serious pressure throughout the first half.

Backed by six goals from right wing Hongyan Zhuang, China cut the gap to only two goals, 14:12, after 24 minutes, with an excellent attacking outing by both sides, which saw the goalkeepers pretty much failing to stop a shot, providing an exciting match in the Jane Sandanski Sports Center in Skopje.

However, Sweden had the upper hand due to their superior experience and depth, as China’s defence simply collapsed in the dying minutes of the first half, when the European side went on a 5:1 run, to open their biggest lead of the match, six goals, at half-time.

It went from bad to worse for China, whose efficiency dipped in the second half, with their defence not helping too much, as well as their goalkeepers failing to rise to the occasion, with only fives saves combined between them.

There was no surprise, though, that Sweden continued to push and the question about the winner of the match was quickly answered, as the Scandinavian side delivered a 11:5 run to start the second half, especially through a sturdy defence, which had four blocked shots in the first 14 minutes of the second part.

Sweden did not stop, as backs Thea Kylberg and Emma Mihajlovic, the Alkaloid Player of the Match, as voted by fans on the ihf.info website and the IHF app, combined for 11 goals, helping the European side to a large win, 38:24, and the second largest number of goals scored so far at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship behind Denmark.

With their clear double-digit win, Sweden are now on the first place in Group E, tied on points with Czechia, and can secure a berth for the main round, provided they win against Algeria, while China lose against Czechia on Friday, in the second matchday of the preliminary round.

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Emma Mihajlovic (Sweden)