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.

Sweden have always been a dark horse at international tournaments, with strong outings at the IHF Women’s World Championship, finishing fourth at Germany 2017 and seventh at Japan 2019.

The 11th place at the Women’s EHF EURO 2020, though, was their worst finish in an international tournament since 2009, therefore coach Tomas Axner felt like changes were finally due in a team renowned for their outstanding youth system.

With their six Olympic Games medals, equal to Republic of Korea, Norway are one of the most successful teams ever, and qualification through to Tokyo 2020 would set them up in their attempt to equal Denmark’s record of three Olympic golds (1996, 2000, 2004) and with it, sit as the undisputed Queens of Olympic handball.

In a star-studded line-up at Japan 2019, Spain had their best-ever IHF Women’s World Championship, finishing second after an impressive campaign, losing by the slightest of margins in a hard-fought final against the Netherlands.

Placing ninth at the Women’s EHF EURO 2020 last December was a step back, yet their game plan was classic Spain, with a focus on defence, but missing their spark in attack.

Five years ago in Rio de Janeiro, Russia had a stellar tournament under Evgenii Trefilov’s guidance, winning their first-ever Olympic gold medal. Darya Dmitrieva and Polina Kuznetsova were elected to the All-star Team of the tournament, while Anna Vyakhireva was named the MVP.

With a perfect mix of experienced players and young stars such as Vyakhireva and Dmitrieva, Russia seemed to have a bright future. However, they have failed to win a gold medal at any major international competition after 2016.