Montenegro defeated P.R. of China to win the 2016 IHF Women’s Junior (U20) World Championship President’s Cup with a score of 27:23, thereby finishing 17th on the final ranking while China settle for 18th. 

The other second-round President’s Cup matches saw Austria win against debutants Egypt to rank 19th, Tunisia beat Chile to secure 21st, and Kazakhstan defeat Uzbekistan to finish 23rd.  

CSKA Palace of Sport, Tuesday 12 July
President’s Cup Final (Placement match 17/18): Montenegro vs P.R. of China 27:23 (12:11)

P.R. of China took an early lead with goals from Yanqun Lin and Xiuxiu Tian before Montenegro added their first from Dijana Ujkic (five goals total). After five minutes the Asian team held a narrow advantage at 2:1, but by the 10-minute mark the momentum had swung Montenegro’s way as they pulled in front to 4:3. 

17 minutes in China coach Mingxing Wang called her first time-out when Montenegro maintained the one-goal lead, but it was the European side that found the goal next with a fast break from Ujkic taking the score to 8:6. 

China worked to decrease the two-goal deficit as the time ticked on, finally coming within one at 10:11 late in the half. Tian equalised with just over a minute remaining (11:11), but Montenegro’s Lejla Bosnjak created a one-goal lead for her team with a penalty goal scored after the buzzer. 

After the break Montenegro quickly moved ahead to a two-goal advantage, which persisted until the 40-minute mark when Tian was yet again the one to take China within one with an impressive outside jump shot (15:16), but they could not equalise and moments later Montenegro scored two consecutive goals courtesy of line player Tatjana Brnovic and Ujkic that put the score at 18:15 in their favour as the last quarter of the match approached. 

As the clock hit the 45-minute mark Montenegro increased the difference to create their first five-goal lead at 20:15, and as the clock ticked on all they needed to do was hold on. China closed the gap somewhat before the final whistle, but the match belonged to Montenegro – as did the President’s Cup at buzzer. 

Placement match 19/20: Austria vs Egypt 31:22 (14:9)

Austria were first on the board creating an early lead at 2:0 before Egypt began to find the goal around the five-minute mark. The African team briefly decreased the deficit to one at 2:3 in the eighth, but Austria began to pull ahead again to hold a four-goal lead by the 10-minute mark (6:2).

Two consecutive goals brought Egypt back to a two-goal deficit at 4:6 before Ines Ivancok scored a penalty goal for Austria to increase the score line to 7:4. 17 minutes in when Egypt goalkeeper Omnia Khaled Mostafa Arafa made a save the score stood at 9:5, and her team closed the score line slightly with a penalty scored by Nouran Khaled Hassan Kamel. 

Khaled Mostafa began to make more saves and her team slowly closed the gap to 7:9 by the 20th, but Austria soon opened up the advantage again to take a five-goal lead into the break. 

Five minutes into the second half Austria had pulled further in front to 18:12, as coach Helfried Muller rotated through his bench to gain experience for those who had not been on court so much at Russia 2016. Goalkeeper Diana Oller saved a penalty off Khaled Hassan in the 38th, followed immediately by the shot taken off the rebound, and her team converted at the other end to create a 19:12 advantage. 

With 15 minutes left Austria were seven goals in front at 23:16, and they held on through until the final whistle to record a nine-goal victory. 

Sport Palace Dynamo Krylatskoe, Tuesday 12 July
Placement match 21/22: Tunisia vs Chile 33:19 (18:9)

Tunisia finished their Russia 2016 campaign with a one-sided win that earns them 21st place on the final ranking, while Chile finish 22nd at their first ever IHF Women’s Junior (U20) World Championship. 

At the five-minute mark the African team were narrowly in front at 2:1, before they recorded a 7:0 run, including four consecutive goals from back Chaima Jouini (nine goals total), that created an eight-goal advantage at 9:1 midway through the half. Chile scored their second courtesy of Daniela Mino, but then it was Tunisia’s turn to add several to the score board. 

10 minutes later the African team were in front 17:5, before Chile recorded a 4:1 run to end the half with a smaller deficit. 

The match had already been decided however, and when Tunisia returned to score six straight goals while keeping the Pan American side scoreless for almost nine minutes (24:9), it was clear Chile would not be able to close the gap. 

After that point Chile picked up their game, with a much more even final 20 minutes, but it was too late. Tunisia held the significant advantage to finish with a 14-goal victory. 

Placement match 23/24: Uzbekistan vs Kazakhstan 31:34 (14:17)

Kazakhstan finish 23rd for the second consecutive IHF Women’s Junior World Championship after putting on a strong team performance to defeat debutants Uzbekistan by three goals. 

Kazakhstan scored three goals inside the first three minutes to create an early advantage at 3:0, after which Uzbekistan began to add to the score board with strong individual games from Gulsanam Erkinova (11 goals total) and Surayyokhon Abdulhamidova (12 goals). They equalised briefly at 9:9 in the 17th minute with a goal from Abdulhamidova, but the level score line was temporary and Kazakhstan finished the half stronger with a 6:2 run in the last 10 minutes that enabled them to take a three-goal advantage into the break. 

The second half was exactly the same as the first, with Uzbekistan chasing until they equalised at 24:24 with just over 15 minutes on the clock. But once again Kazakhstan allowed that score line only briefly before recording a 10:6 run through the last quarter of the game to finish with a three-goal difference that puts them at 23rd on the final ranking at Russia 2016.