A superb defensive display helped the People’s Republic of China get even closer to a main round berth at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, with a clear 33:9 win over Algeria.

GROUP E
People’s Republic of China vs Algeria 33:9 (19:5)

Goalkeeper Luyao Li had a 71% saving efficiency, while right wing Zihan Shi scored six goals, in what proved to be one of the most important and one of the biggest wins in the history of the appearances for the Asian team at the People’s Republic of China at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship.

Not only the Asian team delivered a fantastic defensive display – with Algeria failing to score one goal for 29 minutes, between the 18th and the 48th minutes – but they also limited the African side’s shooting efficiency to only 23% at the end of the match, in one of the most lopsided matches so far at North Macedonia 2024.

As coach Suzana Lazovic constantly told her players, defence and grit are crucial, and it was exactly what China delivered from the start of the match, when they used a 7:1 run, spurred by Yuting Liu, with two goals, to create a 11:4 lead.

It proved to be an unassailable lead for the Asian side, which displayed once again some great potential, especially on defence, where Algeria constantly were forced to shoot from difficult positions or concede turnovers.

Eventually, Algeria finished the match with only nine goals scored, the first time in their history when the African team scored less than 10 goals, with the previous record being exactly 10 goals against Germany in 1989. On the other hand, China registered one of the largest-ever wins, with 11 of their outfield players scoring at least one goal, underlining their growth in women’s handball.

China have now tied Sweden at the top of the group, with both teams on four points. If the Scandinavian side do not lose against Czechia, then China will progress to the main round of the competition, with a two-hours wait for the Asian side to see their fate decided.

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Chunfeng Yang (People’s Republic of China)