The 10th edition of the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, which takes place between 14 and 25 August in the Chuzhou, the People’s Republic of China, threw off on Wednesday, when 16 matches are scheduled.

There were three clear wins in the first five matches, as well as a draw, in one of the most balanced matches of the opening day, 27:27 against the finalists of the 2023 AHF Asian Women’s Youth Handball Championship, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

GROUP A

• Serbia vs Austria 27:30 (12:13)
• Sweden vs Chile 37:17 (19:8)

GROUP B 

• Croatia vs Nigeria 31:11 (16:6)

GROUP C

• Japan vs Republic of Korea 27:27 (12:14)
• Netherlands vs Canada 41:6 (21:5)

What happened: The 10th IHF Women’s Youth World Championship threw off with a cracker of a match, as the two teams which played the final of the 2023 AHF Asian Women’s Youth Handball Championship, Japan and the Republic of Korea, faced off in a tighthly-knit battle.

Korea, the reigning world champions, received a heavy blow in their title defence campaign, as they have already dropped a point in what could be a very tight group, after drawing against Japan, which are the reigning Asian champions, 28:28. By the 35th minute, Korea were up four goals, 18:14, but were limited to only nine goals in the second half, as goalkeepers Karen Sekiguchi and Hirari Fujiwara combined for 17 saves for Japan.

Yume Matsumoto scored seven goals for Japan, as Yui Yasugahira added six more goals, with the Asian champions coming back and saving a point, after they took the lead late in the match, but eventually Hyeonji Ku scored the last goal of the match. Tied at 27:27, Korea's goalkeeper saved a penalty, but the reigning champions turned the ball over, enabling Japan to have an open-goal shot, which failed in the end, hitting the post, as the two sides shared the spoils.

In the other match of the group, the Netherlands delivered a fantastic attacking performance, to take a 41:6 win over Canada, their second largest-ever in history at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship. In the second half, Canada scored only once , as all but one of Netherlands’ players had at least one goal in the match.

In Group A, Austria and Serbia also delivered a tight battle, with Austria eventually taking a 30:27 lead, as Andrea Barnjak and Aurelie Egbaimo each scored six goals for the European side. That might prove decisive for a main round berth, as Sweden look the favourites to win the group, after delivering a 37:17 win over Chile, in which goalkeeper Anna Danielsson had 11 saves for a 58% saving efficiency and all but two of Sweden’s outfield players scored at least one goal.

Debutants Nigeria also had a tough start at China 2024, being thoroughly dominated by Croatia. The European side, one of the favourites for a medal, took a 16:6 lead at the break and enhanced it in the second part, delivering the African side a 11:31 loss in their first ever match in the competition. Serbia’s Lara Stanic and Dutch player Robin van Galen scored eight goals.

Stats of the day: Lucija Renić was the top scorer of the day so far, putting nine goals past Nigeria

What’s next: 11 matches are still to be played in the opening day of the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship and heavyweights like Norway and Denmark will take the court in Chuzhou over the next hours. You can watch all the matches on the IHF Competitions channel.