Duel of disappointed sees Hungary take 15th spot

Janos Gyurka’s Hungary side recorded their joint-third lowest finish in an IHF Men’s Junior World Championship with victory over Korea in the 15/16 placement match in the early afternoon in Pontevedra.

Hungary have a long and distinguished history in global handball, but in 2011 they recorded their lowest-ever finish in this championship (17th), which was previously 16th (1999). The result at Spain mean they equal 15th spot, taken in 2003.

15/16 Placement Match
Hungary vs Korea 40:36 (21:19)
Pavillon Municipal de Deportes de Pontevedra

“It’s easier to play for medals than playing for 15/16 place” said Gyurka after he saw his side dominate Korea for the whole 60 minutes in a match in which his player Miklos Rosta admitted his side “struggled”.

In fact, Hungary have struggled for the whole of Spain 2019, defeating only Bahrain and Kosovo in the group stages and losing to Croatia, Brazil and Portugal. A loss then followed against Denmark yesterday in their eighth-final with Korea able to tell the same story as well, defeating only Kosovo and Australia in the preliminary group and then playing better, but losing, against Slovenia in their eighth-final.

Gyurka gave all of his 16 squad players time on the court today and they score 40 goals – somewhat expected in a game against Korea – but he will not be happy with the 17 technical faults made in possession.

A red card for Bence Szucs after the 2,06m, 137kg line player caught the head of 1,77m 75kg left wing Byeongcheol Kim in a defensive pressure came with under 10 minutes left but by then Hungary were 35:28 up. The game was over and so were both teams' Spain 2019 experiences, one which they both may want to forget.

Best Player of the Match: Miklos Rosta (HUN)