A 6:1 run and another 5:0 run, both deployed in the second half, were enough to help Paraguay open their account at the 25th IHF Women’s World Championship, with a strong win against the PR of China.

It was Paraguay’s best-ever attacking performance in the world handball flagship event, beating their record, set against Algeria at Serbia 2013, by one goal.

China follow Tunisia to become the second team with four losses in a row at Spain 2021 and they have a mountain to climb to jump back into contention in the last two matches.

PRESIDENT’S CUP GROUP II
Paraguay vs PR of China 30:24 (12:12)

Two teams that had nothing to lose but had already met two times at the IHF Women’s World Championship, threw off their President’s Cup campaign in Lliria, with Paraguay hoping to win their sixth Women’s World Championship game out of 24.

Only one of those wins came against Asian sides, exactly against PR of China, at Germany 2017, as the South American team had scored less goals and conceded more than the China side at Spain 2021.

Yet, what followed was a closely contested match, which provided four lead changes throughout the first half. It was China who started better, but the two turnover-prone teams were left exposed when they really needed to step up.

Paraguay had 13 turnovers and converted only 36% of their shots – and China followed suit, with 12 turnovers and the same meagre 36% attacking efficiency, as none of the teams opened a gap larger than two goals.

A Paraguayan 4:1 run inspired by line players Sabina Fiore and Gisela Gimenez turned the game on its head, handing the South American side the lead for the first time since the second minute, 9:8, with the Chinese defence unable to cut the pipeline to them.

But China, who had only 11 outfield players on the scoresheet, bounced back and tied the game in the last seconds of the first half at 12:12 through one of their most experienced players, right wing Haixia Zhang.

Yet, everything changed in the first minutes of the second half, when Paraguay used a 6:1 run to blow the lead wide open, taking advantage of China’s turnovers. Back Maria Fernandez, the team’s top scorer with six goals and right wing Jazmin Mendoza, who was named the hummel Player of the Match, fueled that run that helped the South American side open a huge gap and never look back.

China had seven goals from Mengqing Jin, but the best they could do was to cut the gap to only one goal, 20:19. Two goals from Fernandez and Fiore each earned Paraguay another 5:0 unanswered run and, by that time, it was game over for China, who turned the ball over 23 times in the game.

Paraguay’s 30:24 win helped them leapfrog Slovakia in the standings thanks to the superior goal difference, +6 as opposed to +4, before the two winning sides collide on Friday in Lliria.

It was also Paraguay’s best attacking performance at an IHF Women’s World Championship, as the South American team had never hit the 30-goal mark, beating their previous record by one goal, set against Algeria, 29:19 in the 21/22 Placement Match at Serbia 2013.

On the other hand, China will try to save their tournament when they face Tunisia, the only sides with four losses in a row at Spain 2021 after the first eight days of the competition.

hummel Player of the Match: Jazmin Mendoza, Paraguay

Photo: RFEBM / J. Navarro