Japan seal flawless start against Paraguay

A new-look Japanese side with eight players making their debuts and an average of 15.6 matches in the national team per player, enjoyed a great start at the 25th IHF Women’s World Championship.

Shigeo Kusumoto’s side secured a superb 40:17 win against Paraguay, jumping to first place in the Group G standings after the first round.

GROUP G
Japan vs Paraguay 40:17 (19:10)

Two years ago, when Japan recorded their best finish at the IHF Women’s World Championship since 1971, 10th, they won the inaugural game against Argentina, 24:20.

This time around, the Asian side, who underwent a plethora of changes since this summer after finishing last at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, threw off Spain 2021 with yet another match against South American opposition.

It was Paraguay now, a team less-experienced and with less-depth than Argentina, basically the perfect start for Japan, in a group also featuring Brazil and Croatia.

And the Japanese side, with a new coach in Shigeo Kusumoto, who replaced Ulrik Kirely, duly delivered in the first half, jumping to a clear 19:10 lead at the break, after centre back Natsuki Ayzawa scored five goals from five shots.

In fact, Japan duly dominated the game from the first whistle, converting 19 of their 23 shots, for an 83% shooting efficiency, as the Paraguayan goalkeepers, Maria Acosta and Fatima Ocampos, did not save one shot in the first 30 minutes.

The flurry of Japanese fast breaks were too much for the Paraguayan side, who needed six minutes and seven seconds to score their first goal and by the time they got into the groove they were already eight goals down, 4:12.

It went from bad to worse for Paraguay as time elapsed in the game with Japan using all their speed and fast break efficiency to break clear. It also did not help that the South American side’s attacking efficiency dipped to 44% and they turned the ball over 17 times, as Paraguay could only muster seven goals in the second half.

Therefore, Japan strolled to their biggest win at the IHF Women’s World Championship, 40:17, since the 44:19 drubbing of Puerto Rico at Denmark 2015, in the 19/20 placement match.

Japan will now face Brazil on Saturday, with the winner earning safe passage to the main round, while Paraguay face Croatia, in what is a do-or-die game for both sides who lost their first match.

hummel Player of the Match: Natsuki Ayazawa, Japan

Photo: RFEBM / Á. Bermejo