The only team which will make its debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the women’s competition will be Slovenia, which had a meteoric rise under the guidance of experienced coach Dragan Adzic, who has already secured a medal at the Olympics with Montenegro – silver at London 2012.

Finishing 17th at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship and 11th at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship are not credentials which would recommend a team to deliver a ticket for the Olympic Games, yet Slovenia did enough to sneak into one of the three Olympic Qualification Tournaments, where they outdid themselves.

The key was finishing eighth at the EHF EURO 2022, which they co-hosted, as Adzic’s defensive-minded system delivered some excellent results, with Slovenia doing just enough what was needed of them to secure a ticket for the Paris 2024 Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournaments.

Back in April, Slovenia started off on the wrong foot, with a 25:31 loss against Germany, but bounced back admirably, with a 32:14 win against Paraguay and then delivered a fantastic performance against Montenegro, when right back Ana Gros and left back Tjaša Stanko scored seven goals each to help Slovenia secure a 30:26 win.

For Gros, who is 33 years old, this might be the last chance to feature at the Olympic Games, a fantastic achievement for a player who has been one of the most consistent scorers at both club and international level over the last years, a fantastic shooter. But Slovenia have more firepower at their disposal, with Stanko and fellow back Elisabeth Omoregie in their ranks, as well as some much-needed experience from right back Barbara Lazovic or left wing Tamara Mavsar.

"The girls have already received a lot of material about their competitors in Paris, where it will be most important that we maintain the level of energy we showed at the qualifying tournament in Neu Ulm. I believe that we will only build on everything in these preparations,” said Adzic.

At Paris 2024, Slovenia, which will make their debut at the Olympics, with their lack of experience in this setting a minus, will be part of Group A, where they are due to face four other European sides – Germany, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, plus a plucky Asian side, the Republic of Korea, the continental champions, which are always a difficult team to play against.

The rookies might just be a dark horse, as they beat Denmark, 28:26, at the EHF EURO 2022, narrowly lost against Norway, 23:26, in the same competition, but lost the last two matches against both Sweden and Germany.

On the other hand, Slovenia lost both friendly matches in July, prior to the throw off for Paris 2024, 21:31 and 27:28 against Hungary, which proved that Adzic still has some tweaking to do before the start of the competition.

Slovenia 

Coach: Dragan Adzic

Key Players: Ana Gros (right back), Tjaša Stanko (left back), Elisabeth Omoregie (centre back)

Qualification for Paris 2024: Olympic Qualification Tournament #3: 2nd place

Previous appearances: Debutants 

Group at Paris 2024: Group A: Norway, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, Denmark, Republic of Korea