Angola became the fourth qualified team for the women’s competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, joining hosts France, reigning European champions Norway, and the Asian representative, the Republic of Korea, after winning the Women’s African Olympic Qualification Tournament in emphatic fashion.

Four sides lined up in Angola’s capital, Luanda, dreaming about a place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with hosts Angola facing Senegal, Congo and Cameroon, with only the winners of the round-robin competition progressing to the Olympic Games, while the second-placed side secured a spot in the Olympic Qualification Tournaments in April 2024.

The four teams earned their tickets to the Women’s African Olympic Qualification Tournament after finishing on the top four places at the 2022 CAHB African Women’s Handball Championship, and they faced off once again, with some well-balanced matches providing a huge amount of drama in the Pavilhão Multiusos in Luanda.

Aiming for their eighth consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games, one of the longest active streaks and the longest in history for an African side, Angola threw off the competition in dramatic fashion, with a match against Senegal, a side which has plenty of experience and counted on players which are featuring prominently in Europe, especially in France.

With no room for mistake, the hosts were tied at the break, 11:11, with Senegal offering a strong challenge until the end, when Angola eventually took a 22:21 nail-biting win, securing a stronger position to challenge for the Paris 2024 ticket.

It was the 11th win in as many matches for Angola against Senegal, but the closest one yet, underlining the progress made by Senegal in the last few years. In the other match of the first day, Cameroon were dealt a heavy blow by Congo, as the two sides finished in a deadlock, 21:21, which hampered Cameroon’s chances for challenging for the first place.

It all boiled down to the last match of the tournament, though, as Cameroon and Angola both had three points after the second day, after Cameroon stifled Senegal’s challenge, with a 17:15 win, while Angola properly dominated Congo, thanks to their outstanding defence, clinching a 30:15 win.

Angola and Cameroon met in the previous two editions of the CAHB African Women’s Handball Championship, therefore it was just natural to also challenge for the first place here and the hosts duly delivered another excellent performance, their 17th win in 22 matches against their continental rivals.

Angola took a strong 16:9 lead at the break and never looked back, in spite of Cameroon’s challenge for a comeback, with the hosts clinching their third win in as many matches, 27:21, to secure their Paris 2024 Olympic Games ticket.

After Senegal won against Congo, 27:22, Cameroon finished on the second place, with three points, and will progress to the Olympic Qualification Tournaments in April, but their dreams of securing their maiden appearance at the Olympic Games received a heavy blow.

For the eighth time in history, Angola have qualified for the Olympic Games, with their best-ever finish coming at Atlanta 1996, the seventh place. In total, the African powerhouse secured six wins and three draws in the 34 matches they played in the competition, winning two matches only once, at Rio 2016, when they ended up in eighth place.