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Paris 2024 | Norway win again and regain balance
30 Jul. 2024

Norway claimed their second straight win in the tournament and made a big step towards the quarter-final, as the Scandinavian team proved too strong for the Republic of Korea, 26:20.
PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP В
Norway vs Republic of Korea 26:20 (13:11)
Both sides had been level on two points prior to this match, but Norway were seen as favourites against the Republic of Korea, in their 10th match at the Olympics, and they started to live up to expectations since the opening minutes. A few shots from the unstoppable Nora Mork helped the European team to open up a 5:2 lead.
The Republic of Korea soon woke up and enjoyed a 3:0 run, capitalizing on their rivals' mistakes and drawing level at 5:5, yet Norway weathered the storm and continued to have the upper hand. One of their leaders Henny Reistad, who had missed the previous matches due to an injury, entered the game in the 12th minute and added even more power to her team's attack.
After setting up a couple of goals and earning a 7m shot, Reistad opened her account at Paris 2024 in the 20th minute, making the score 9:8. And while the Koreans, led by Ryu Eun Hee, continued to fight hard, Silje Solberg's 39% saving efficiency helped Norway to create a two-goal gap by half-time, 13:11.
In the second half, Solberg was substituted by Katrine Lunde, and the veteran actually had an even bigger impact, ending the game with 11 saves and a 55% save efficiency. Her saves were one of the main factors that helped the Europeans to steadily extend the gap after the restart.
Between the 37th and the 44th minutes, the Republic of Korea could not score a single goal, which helped Norway to pull clear at 20:14, a gap which proved unassailable. The Asians were restricted to just a 43% shot efficiency during this match, and they hardly had a chance for a positive result, scoring only 20 goals.
Norway were not perfect either, yet they did better, converting 65% of their attempts, so the reigning European champions ultimately celebrated a well-deserved victory. Stine Skogrand became their top scorer with five goals, and Reistad scored four times from nine shots – but she still has time to improve her efficiency in the next encounters.