Denmark celebrate fourth bronze medal with win over Sweden

Denmark tied Hungary as the team with the largest number of bronze medals in history at the IHF Women’s World Championship, sealing a 28:27 win against Sweden in front of a packed Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning.

BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
Sweden vs Denmark 27:28 (15:18) 

After their heart-breaking loss against Norway in Friday’s semi-final, Denmark needed a strong start against Sweden, where anything but a win would have been considered a disappointment, leaving the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, which they co-hosted, empty-handed.

Without influential line player Kathrine Heindahl, Denmark delivered what it was expected of them, cruising to a 5:1 lead after seven minutes, after three saves from goalkeeper Sandra Toft. In that moment, Sweden’s coach, Tomas Axner, decided to use a team time-out, trying to stop the rut and break the scenario which saw Sweden start slow and fail to get a rhythm in the semi-final against France.

That team time-out proved to be the right decision, as Sweden started to mix things in attack, now rely heavily on their back line, which helped them cut the gap to a single goal, 10:9, after 17 minutes, applying more and more pressure on Denmark.

The saves dried up for both Sandra Toft and Althea Reinhardt, yet Denmark were still ahead thanks to their excellent attacking efficiency, which saw the hosts in Herning convert 75% of their shots in the first half, to take a three-goal lead, 18:15, which looked to set the path for a medal.

However, Sweden were no pushovers and continued to try everything in their power to seal their maiden medal in the history of the IHF Women’s World Championship. Slowly, but surely, Sweden got back into the game, as left wing Olivia Mellegard and line player Linn Blohm combined for 11 goals until the 48th minute, when Sweden were down by a single goal, 22:23.

Goals from Blohm and Mellegard were part of a 4:0 unanswered run for Sweden, which span for six minutes and 48 seconds, which turned the game on its head. Denmark did everything they could, also using the seven-on-six tactic which failed to impress against Norway, but they did not break Sweden’s defence.

It was Sweden’s only lead of the match, 24:23, though, as Denmark bounced back with Kristina Jorgensen, their joint top scorer in the match, with five goals until that moment, matched by Anne Mette Hansen, putting two goals past Sweden’s goalkeeper, Johanna Bundsen, to create a two-goal lead for Denmark, 27:25.

But it was Jorgensen who scored the decisive goal, to help Denmark clinch a 28:27 win and secure their fourth bronze medal at the IHF Women’s World Championship, a well-deserved finish for a team which set off for the title, but had to settle for the bronze.

The final whistle saw Sweden’s players collapse in tears, after missing out on the second chance in history for a medal at the IHF Women’s World Championship, ending up with two losses in a row, against France and Denmark, to seal the fourth position, tying their record in the competition.

Only two teams – Norway (12 medals) and Hungary (nine medals) have been on the podium more times than Denmark, which has now sealed one gold medal, two silver medals and four bronze medals, with the co-hosts also sealing a place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, due to their second-place finish at the EHF EURO 2022.

hummel Player of the Match: Mie Hojlund (Denmark)