Japan seal fifth place, Portugal end up on seventh in the final day of the 3rd IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship

Japan and Portugal ended the 3rd IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship on a high, sealing wins in their last matches, with the Asian side finishing fifth after a 2:0 win over Chile, while Portugal sealed the seventh place, with a 2:0 win over India.

PLACEMENT MATCH 5/6
Chile vs Japan 0:2 (5:11; 1:11)

In their debut in the IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, Japan went close to a medal, but a dramatic loss against the USA in the preliminary round meant that the Asian side headed to the Placement Matches. 

Once again, their fast-paced attacking tactics delivered good results, first with a 2:1 win against Portugal, and on Saturday against Chile, as Japan finished the competition on a high, with two wins in a row, to secure the fifth place, boosting their morale ahead of preparing even further for the next editions of the world wheelchair handball flagship competition.

There was no question about the winner in the Placement Match 5/6, where Japan secured a clear 2:0 win over Chile, with the Asian side starting strong, as the South American team conceded the largest number of points in a single set at Egypt 2024.

Japan were unstoppable, with their fantastic pair of Shinnosuke Morooka and Yukitaka Moriya combining once again for nine points in the first set, where the Asian side led from start to finish, taking an 11:5 win, with Chile unable to weather the storm.

Chile failed to score in the first eight minutes and 53 seconds of the second set, while Morooka finished the match with 10 points, improving his overall tally in the competition to 71 points, 14 more than Egypt’s Magdy Talaat Abdo Abbas, who will still have to play in the final.

Therefore, Japan jumped to a clear 11:1 win in the second set, taking the clear win, with yet another superb attacking display, which cemented their status as the top scoring team at the 3rd IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship.

With their 2:0 win, Japan ended up on the fifth place, a fantastic performance for a side which lost only two matches at Egypt 2024, while Chile ended up on the sixth place, having won two matches, both of them against India.

PLACEMENT MATCH 7/8
India vs Portugal 0:2 (3:5; 5:9)

Left disappointed after they conceded two losses on Friday, Portugal, the reigning World and European champions, a title sealed two years ago on their home court, aimed to bounce back and save something from a competition which they started with three consecutive wins in the preliminary round.

Two years ago, at the 2022 IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, India finished on the last place, the sixth, and the Asian side was aiming to avoid the last place again, but they were not match for a Portugal side which really gave everything to secure the win.

In the first set, coach Danilo Pereira did not use Portugal’s top scorer, Ricardo Queiros, but captain Joao Jeronimo took over and helped his side deliver a 5:3 win, which got them closer to the win.

With Queiros on the court in the second half, Portugal dominated even further and controlled the whole set, from start to finish, taking a 9:5 win, as Jeronimo had five points, seconded by Queiros, with four points, sealing Portugal’s fourth win in six matches.

However, the European side, which had their eyes firmly on a medal, had to settle for the seventh place, but will aim to come back even stronger in the next editions, while India finished eighth, after conceding a loss in each of the six matches played, winning only two sets, both against Chile.