Romania earned the President's Cup at the 2024 IHF Women's World Championship, beating Argentina in the final, taking a 25:19 win. All the positions from the 17th to the 24th have now been determined, while Canada took their first win in the tournament, beating Greenland. 

PLACEMENT MATCH 17-18

•     Argentina vs Romania 19:25 (12:12)

PLACEMENT MATCH 19-20

•    Austria vs Republic of Korea 28:32 (12:15)

PLACEMENT MATCH 21-22

•     Chinese Taipei vs Egypt 24:42 (11:23)

PLACEMENT MATCH 23-24

•    Nigeria vs Kosovo 18:21 (7:7)

PLACEMENT MATCH 31-32

•    Greenland vs Canada 18:27 (9:13)

What happened: In their six previous participations at the IHF Women's Youth World Championship, Romania had never ranked lower than the 14th position, but although they finished only 17th now, they can be proud of winning the President's Cup. The European side led 12:8 with four minutes to play in the first half, but Argentina enjoyed a 4:0 run to draw level at the break. However, Romania were dominant after the restart, and as their goalkeeper Ioana Nita boasted a 43% saving efficiency, her team enjoyed a 7:0 run between minutes 41 and 53, which played a crucial role in this encounter. Alexia Maria Nita became Romania's leading scorer with eight goals, and Anamaria Serban added six more, while Helena Molina scored seven goals for Argentina, who finished 18th and actually made a step forward compared to the 25th position at North Macedonia 2022. 

The Republic of Korea, who started China 2024 as defending champions, won the Placement Match 19-20 against Austria. The Austrian side led just once, 2:1 early in the match, before their Asian rivals firmly seized the initiative. Korea boasted some good individual performances, as Yeseo Lee scored nine goals, increasing her tally in the tournament to 41, and Jimin Kim added eight more. Goalkeeper Chaeeun Go also had a lot of impact, making 16 saves for a 37% saving efficiency, and while her Austrian colleagues Michelle Jobst and Nina Plavotic boasted even more impressive stats, combining for 19 saves, it was Korea who won this match and ranked 19th. 

Egypt ended the tournament with a commanding win over Chinese Taipei in the Placement Match 21-22. The African side scored as many as 42 goals, including 10 from fast breaks, and their goalkeeper Gihad Wael Sayed stood well between the posts, as she registered 16 saves for a 40% saving efficiency. The Egyptians opened the match with a 5:0 run and never looked back, boasting a 69% shooting efficiency compared to Chinese Taipei's 46%. The Asian team ended China 2024 with a big loss, but they may take pride in having actually won three matches at their debut IHF Women's World Championship, against Greenland, Kazakhstan and Nigeria. 

The same can be said about Kosovo, who also took three wins at their first-ever IHF Women's World Championship, and although the European side ranked lower than Chinese Taipei, they ended the tournament on a high, celebrating a 21:18 victory against Nigeria in the Placement Match 23-24. In a low-scoring encounter, the teams were tied at 7:7 at half-time, but Kosovo had the upper hand in the second half, as their best scorer Diona Dresh finished the game with 10 goals. Nigeria, who also made their debut at this level, ended China 2024 with just one victory against fellow African side Angola. 

Of four teams that made their debut at the IHF Women's Youth World Championship, only Greenland failed to celebrate a maiden win. They had their last opportunity in the match against Canada, who had also lost all six previous matches at China 2024, but it was the North American side who finally opened their account and ended the tournament on a high. 11 outfield players scored for the Canadians, and their goalkeeper Alice Florescu boasted a 47% saving efficiency, as their team were superior during the entire match and earned a well-deserved win. 

Stat of the day: 5 matches – Romania's winning streak at China 2024 which allowed them to win the President's Cup after failing to reach the main round. 

What's next: 11 games are still to be played on Friday, including both semi-finals as well as a number of placement matches.