Denmark became the first semi-finalists of the women's handball tournament at Paris 2024 Olympic Games, as they proved too strong for the Netherlands in the quarter-final, taking a 29:25 win. The Danish team, who are three-time Olympic champions, will play in the semi-final for the first time since Athens 2004, while the Netherlands lost their second straight quarter-final after Tokyo 2020. 

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES
QUARTER-FINALS
Denmark vs Netherlands 29:25 (11:10)

A close battle was expected in this match, as both rivals had finished the preliminary stage with similar results, four wins and one defeat. However, the Netherlands had the upper hand, as they finished second in Group B, while Denmark ranked third in Group A.

And the Dutch side enjoyed a brilliant start of the match, stunning Denmark with their free-flowing attack and opening up a 4:0 lead five minutes into the game, as Bo van Wetering and Dione Housheer both netted twice. Only after that, Denmark scored their first goal of the match, as Emma Friis shot past Yara ten Holte.

In the first half, ten Holte did a good job, and combined with five goals from Van Wetering, it helped the Netherlands to keep their advantage for a long time. However, the Danish goalkeeper Althea Reinhardt also improved and actually had exactly the same record at half-time as her Dutch colleague, with eight saves and a 44% saving efficiency.

Courtesy to their heroics, the opening half was low-scoring, yet Denmark woke up after a slow start and started to catch up. Angela Malestein scored the last goal of the Netherlands before the break in the 22nd minute before the Danish team enjoyed a 4:0 run, as Friis' fourth goal in the game secured their first lead, 11:10, just before half-time.

After the match resumed, Jesper Jensen's team picked up where they had left off, having another 4:0 run to extend the gap to 15:10. After 12 minutes without a Dutch goal, Malestein broke that deadlock, and the game became more tense again – but now it was Denmark who had the upper hand.

The Netherlands cut the deficit to two goals on a couple of occasions, but overall, the Danish defence worked well, and Reinhardt continued to shine between the posts, ending the game with 17 saves and a 41% efficiency, while the Dutch goalkeeping was less solid in the second half.

In attack, Friis and Anne Mette Hansen netted six times each, and while Van Wetering and Housheer actually scored more for the Netherlands, seven apiece, the Netherlands' other key players did not have the best day – Lois Abbingh missed all her six shots, Dione Housheer had seven goals from 14 shots, while Estavana Polman converted just two of her 10 attempts. In total, they combined for nine goals from 30 shots.

In the 56th minute, Denmark had a five-goal lead, 27:22, and the Netherlands had neither time nor power to make a comeback. So just like four years ago at Tokyo 2020, the Dutch side are eliminated in the quarter-final, while Jensen's team stay in the race for the medals and will face Norway or Brazil in the semi-final on Thursday.