Guinea took control in both tournaments at the Women’s Intercontinental Phase of the IHF Trophy, with the African side now leading the standings in both the junior (U19) and the youth (U17) competitions, which are taking place in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria.

While Guinea might still be leapfrogged by their opponents, both the junior and the youth teams will win the competitions with a draw in their last matches, which are due to take place on Saturday, 11 April.

In the junior competition, Guinea are the only unbeaten side after four days, leading the standings with six points, two more than Bulgaria and Canada, while Uzbekistan (two points) and Colombia (zero points) are out of contention.

The fourth matchday of the competition saw Guinea thoroughly outplay hosts Bulgaria, with a strong start setting the tone for the whole match. Maciré Camara was Guinea’s top scorer in the 33:20 win and three of her 13 goals came in the first four minutes, when the African side jumped to a 3:0 lead.

Bulgaria did cut the gap, 6:4, after 11 minutes, but then Guinea used another 3:0 run to create a 16:12 lead at the break. In the second half, Camara was unstoppable, while goalkeeper Aicha Fall also saved 12 shots for a 38% saving efficiency, lifting Guinea to a clear 33:20 win, as Bulgaria could only score eight goals in the last 30 minutes.

While Camara’s performance was superb, Uzbekistan’s Sunajon Sharipboeva was even more impressive, scoring 16 goals from 16 shots in her team’s 48:34 win against Colombia. 

Sharipboeva had 13 goals in the first half, as Uzbekistan secured plenty of attacks after Colombia’s turnovers, and the wing managed to finish with 16 goals, 12 of which came from fast breaks, as Uzbekistan eventually secured their first points in the competition.

In the last day, on Saturday, Guinea face Canada, while Bulgaria meet Uzbekistan. Guinea can lose the first place only if they lose against Canada and Bulgaria do not win against Uzbekistan, or if they lose against Canada by nine goals or more and Bulgaria also win against Uzbekistan.

Canada’s Mahély Lemaire and Bulgaria’s Melina Spasova are the joint top scorers, with 28 goals, followed by Colombia’s Sara Arroyave Calderón, who scored 27 goals in the four matches played.

Bulgaria’s hopes for the title in the youth (U17)  competition have been dashed by a last-gasp loss against Canada, in a crunch match. The hosts went down early, 6:11, after 20 minutes, but they managed to save face in the first half, with the break seeing Bulgaria down by a single goal, 13:14.

Ivet Kostadinova continued her great run of form, scoring 10 goals in the match, while Canada had Azalée Morisette-Davies scoring 13 goals, taking her overall tally to 36, as the top goal scorer of the competition. Bulgaria started the second half better, taking an 18:15 lead, but Canada quickly came back and wrestled back the lead, 21:20.

The lead changed hands three more times, until Bulgaria led, 28:27, with four minutes to go. But from that moment on, Canada finished the match with a 3:1 run, with the decider coming with four seconds left, when Sofia Rioux converted her shot, to lift her side to a 30:29 win.

A high-octane match between Guinea and Uzbekistan finished with the African side’s win, 41:33, as Mabinty Delmaya Camara scored 13 goals, but Uzbekistan really stood tall until the 37th minute, when they last held the lead, 24:23.

With one matchday left, Guinea (five points) are leading the standings, one point over Uzbekistan, and two points over Bulgaria and Canada. Venezuela are last in the standings, with a single point.

In the last round, on Saturday, Guinea take on Venezuela, while Bulgaria face Uzbekistan.

All the matches of the Women’s Intercontinental Phase of the IHF Trophy can we watched on the IHF Competitions YouTube channel free of charge.

Photo credit: Bulgarian Handball Federation