Paris 2024 | Denmark's fourth win sees them finish third, eliminate Republic of Korea

In the last match of the preliminary round of the women’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Denmark secured a 28:20 win against the Republic of Korea, eliminating the Asian side from the competition.

Denmark finished third, losing the tie-breaker against Norway and Sweden, with all the Scandinavian sides finishing on eight points, while Germany were the team which celebrated the last quarter-finals berth, securing the tie-breaker with Korea and Slovenia, courtesy of their better goal difference.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP A
Denmark vs Republic of Korea 28:20 (12:8)

Denmark were locked in the third place in this group, irrespective of the result of their last match against the Republic of Korea, but for the Asian champions, it was all or nothing, a must-win match for a place in the quarter-finals, as they were locked in a three-way tie with Germany and Slovenia before the last match of the preliminary round in the women’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Anything but a win for Korea would have seen them out and the Asian side knew that fully well, but Denmark were not going to raise their hands and concede a loss, aiming to continue their winning streak in the last match in the women’s competition in the South Paris Arena 6, before everything moved to Lille in the Stade Pierre Mauroy.

Denmark’s attack was far from convincing in the previous matches, but the Scandinavian side had the second lowest number of goals conceded after four matches, therefore Korea had a tough challenge on their hands.

And when a goalkeeper like Sandra Toft has a good day, then Denmark are very difficult to beat. Toft’s best performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games came on Saturday evening, when she had 10 saves from 18 shots, for a 55% saving efficiency in the first half, as Denmark had no issues in controlling the match.

Denmark were quick at the start and created a 6:3 lead, as the Republic of Korea struggled to score, with their trademark fast-paced style being quickly matched by Denmark’s defence, which left no space for Korea’s backs to break through.

Centre back Bitna Woo was the player who scored the largest number of goals for Korea in the match, five, but her team’s shooting efficiency was limited to a meagre 38% after 42 minutes, when Denmark had already jumped to a 21:12 lead, after the Scandinavian side led by only four goals at the break, 12:8.

Denmark had backs Kristina Jorgensen and Anne Mette Hansen score six goals each, boasting their best performances in the competition so far, as they eventually cruised to a 28:20 win, their fourth in five matches at Paris 2024.

Denmark finished with the same number of points as Norway and Sweden, but their nine-goal loss against Norway sent them to the third place in the final standings. The three-way tie saw each team win against each other, therefore the next criteria was applied, goal difference, and Norway won the group with a +5 goal difference in the matches between the three sides, followed by Sweden (+2) and Denmark (-7).

Therefore, Denmark are due to meet the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, a tough battle for Jesper Jensen’s side. On the other hand, the Republic of Korea finished on the fifth place, in a three-way tie with Germany and Slovenia. Germany secured the quarter-finals berth, with a better goal difference (+18), with Korea ending up on the fifth place, with a -6 goal difference, and Slovenia last, with a -12 goal difference.

With only two points, Korea finished on the 10th place in the standings, tying their lowest finish at the Olympics, set at Rio 2016.