USA bounce back with historic win over Japan, Chile dramatically seal win against India

A dramatic comeback, sprinkled with a shoot-out win, handed a historic performance for the United States of America in the second day’s opener at the 3rd IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, bringing their maiden win in the competition, 2:1 against Japan.

In the second match of the day, Chile delivered a win in the third set, 2:1, against India, boosting their chances of a higher-placed finish in the group and an easier path towards the semi-finals.

GROUP A
United States of America vs Japan (5:9; 9:3; 4:4 – 10:8 a.pen.)

Fresh from scoring 26 points in the first match of the 3rd IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship against France – the largest number of points scored by any team in the first day – Japan were looking as favourites against the United States of America, which only mustered two points against reigning champions Brazil in the first match.

And sure enough, for the first set, Japan dominated USA, with Shinnosuke Morooka adding to his impressive tally of points from the first match – 10 points – to help Japan secure the first set, 9:5.

Morooka had eight points, while the top scorer of the first day, Yukitaka Moriya, added one more point, to lift Japan closer to their second win in a row, despite USA trying their best to weather the storm, but struggling with the fast-paced Japan style.

The tables turned in the second set, when the USA had a fantastic start, jumping to a 4:0 lead, with Chayse Wolf and Jeffrey Townsend shining on the court. The Asian side finally broke their duck after five minutes, cutting the lead to only three points, but it went from bad to worse, as USA managed to control the set without any shadow of a doubt.

After the American side opened a 7:2 lead, Japan could never come back and could only settle for an 9:3 loss in the second set, which meant the match was to the third set, a five-minute showdown, which was going to decide the winner.

For Japan, losing Shinnosuke Morooka due to a disqualification in the first minute of the third set was always going to be problematic, but the Asian side managed to stay close to their opponents, despite not having their top scorer, with 11 points, on the court.

After the USA took the lead two times, it was Japan which boasted a 4:3 lead with one minute to go, but the American team eventually tied the score, with the winner being decided in a shoot-out.

Japan missed their first two penalties, but then Moriya converted a two-point shot to balance it out. But eventually, USA missed only one penalty, sealing a 10:8 win in the third set, a fantastic performance for a team which had not played a match before flying to Egypt for the world wheelchair handball flagship competition.

GROUP B
Chile vs India 2:1 (5:6, 5:4; 2:1)

Both sides had lost their first match, with Chile having a heartbreaking experience against Egypt, where they lost both sets by the skin of their teeth. However, the South American side had the same disappointment in the first set, when India took a 6:5 win, edging closer of their second win in history at the IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship.

Chile led for most of the set, but two spin goals, which count as two points in wheelchair handball, coming from captain Javed Choudhari, helped India bounce back in the end of the set and enabled the Asian side to clinch a 6:5 win.

However, Chile proved their learnt from their mistakes and managed to clinch the second set, 5:4, as Angel Hernandez and Jesus Carrasco each scored two points, with the Sotuh American side finally getting a stop in the pivotal moments, when Choudhari and Koteshwar Ramawath were denied, pushing the match into the deciding set.

Once again, the decider – a five-minute set – was full of drama, but Chile had once again a strong defence, conceding only a point, which usually means that the scales were going to balance their way. And indeed they did, as India turned the ball over twice in the last 90 seconds, failing to score, after captain Hernandez had scored twice for Chile.

With their maiden win at the 3rd IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, Chile are back in the discussion for a top-two finish in Group B, as they will face Portugal later today, while India have two losses in two matches and look set to finish either third or fourth in the group standings.