News
Paris 2024 | Sweden progress with win against Republic of Korea
01 Aug. 2024

The third win in four matches in the women’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, 27:21 against the Republic of Korea, helped Sweden secure a quarter-finals berths, the first team from Group A to progress to the knockout phase of the competition.
PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP A
Republic of Korea vs Sweden 21:27 (11:16)
Sweden knew fully well that a win against the Republic of Korea would see them through to the quarter-finals, especially after their good start at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with two wins, one against Norway, and a loss against Denmark, where Sweden were close to secure their third win in a row, but did not score in the last nine minutes to preserve their lead.
It was also a match where coach Tomas Axner faced his predecessor on the bench of Sweden women’s national team, Henrik Signell, currently the second foreign coach in the history of the Republic of Korea, as the Asian side, one of the most decorated in history at the Olympic Games, were playing for their lives, after two consecutive losses.
Axner did decide to start with Evelina Eriksson between the posts, as starter Johanna Bundsen was on the bench, but most of the core of Sweden’s team was there, with backs Jamina Roberts and Jenny Carlson still running the show, helping their side deploy a 3:0 run to weather off a slow start for Sweden and take a 5:2 lead, with line player Linn Blohm also chiming in with two goals.
The European side opened up a 8:4 lead before Korea’s coach, Henrik Signell, took a team time-out, to try and strengthen out the issues in his team, but that did not help too much, as Korea’s attack could only convert 54% of their shots in the first half, a performance that was also hampered by Eriksson’s good saves.
As Axner shuffled the pack in the second half and introduced other players on the court, to rest starters like Nathalie Hagman, Korea found a new gear and started chewing into Sweden’s five-goal lead at the break. It was mostly Sweden failing to get their rhythm going in attack, but the Asian side took the match to their opponents, cutting the lead to only two goals, 20:18, with 16 minutes to go, forcing Axner to take his team time-out.
Despite Sweden facing a hefty challenge with a very aggressive Korea defence, which shifted from 6-0 to 4-2 and even 3-3, the European side had enough in the tank to control the match, thanks to their depth and experience, and secure their third win in four matches, 27:21.
Sweden’s centre back Emma Lindqvist was the top scorer of her side, with five goals, while Blohm and Roberts scored four goals each.
Sweden are now the first team through to the quarter-finals from Group A, with six points, as they cannot fall lower than the fourth place, even if they lose the last match against Slovenia. On the other hand, the Republic of Korea’s fate will go down to the wire, as they need a win against Denmark in the last match and other results to go their way.