After the Handball Association of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea withdrew from the Tokyo Handball Qualification in early 2020, Kazakhstan, as the first alternate, were called upon to take part in a bid to earn their second-ever Olympic Games berth.

Since French coach Frederic Bougeant took over in 2016, the Senegalese women’s national team have undergone a massive shake-up, becoming one of the top teams in Africa.

Bougeant, a well-respected coach in France, where he led both Fleury Loiret and Nantes Atlantique Handball, as well as dipping his toes at Russian powerhouse Rostov-Don, transformed an average side into a powerhouse, with Senegal finishing 18th at the 2019 IHF Women’s World Championship, the second-best African country after Angola.

While Montenegro may have only been standing on the global handball stage since 2006 and the country is in the bottom 10 countries by population in the European continent, with just over 620,000 people, they more than punch above their stature, winning silver at their first Olympic Games, in London in 2012, where they met qualification opponents Norway in the final, and then gold in the European championship a few months later, gaining revenge on the Norwegians.

Since their introduction back in 2008, Romania have been involved in all editions of the Olympic Qualification Tournaments – the previous three: Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016 and now the fourth, the Women’s Tokyo Handball Qualification 2020 later this month.

Five years after their first Olympic Games appearance, the Argentina women’s national team aim to earn their second ticket for the competition.

Sustainable growth and building on the current core have been the main issues for coach Eduardo Gallardo, who has led the team for last nine years, including at Rio 2016.

Hungary’s last Olympics participation was in 2008, where they finished fourth – and now they are determined to make their comeback after a 13-year break to book tickets to Tokyo.

Hungary will host the Tokyo Handball Qualification 2020 Tournament 2 in Györ, and although the matches will be held without spectators, they hope that playing on home court will boost their chances to return on the Olympic scene.