Norway retains top spot at the 2011 Handball Championship, enters quarterfinals – Handball News
Brazil is currently holding the 2011 World Women’s Handball Championship. It began on December 2, 2011 and will continue till December 18, 2011. Twenty-four teams are taking part in this year’s tournament where the Norway women’s
national handball team has given a great run with the ball. They are placed in Group A and have topped the group table at the end of the group stages.
Their opponents in the group are Angola, Montenegro, Iceland, Germany and China. Along with Norway, Angola, Montenegro and Iceland were able to enter the knockout stages of the tournament. Although the Norwegian handball team has
been dominant in the championship, they have lost one match. But this loss did not let them lose their top spot in the table.
Norway played their first match of the group stages in the tournament against Germany on December 3, 2011. This was the only match they lost as Germany won it 31-28. Norwegian women handball players played their second match against
China on December 4, 2011.
China had no chance to win the match as Norway was totally dominant from the start of the match. Norway won the match with a huge difference of twenty-seven goals. Norway scored 43 goals while China could only score 16. For Norway,
Loke Heidi was the top scorer for Norway with seven goals followed by six goals each by Frafjord Marit Malm, Riegelhuth Linn Kristin and Herrem Camilla.
In their third match in the group stages, Norway faced Iceland, the debutante women’s handball team in the 2011 World Women’s Handball Championship. Norway remained on the front foot throughout the match and left Iceland reeling
behind. Norway won the match 27-14 with Linn Jorum Sulland scoring six goals.
The fourth match for Norway was against Angola on December 7, 2011. Angolan women’s handball team came close in ending Norway’s winning streak but they also failed to do so. Norway won the match 26-20. Norway’s fifth and last match
in the group stage was against Montenegro on December 9, 2011.
Montenegro was the second team after Angola which came very close in beating Norway. Sulland’s nine goals in the match did gave Norway a steady lead by seven goals each by Montenegro’s Bojana Popovic and Katarina Bulatovic, reduced
the goal difference to just one goal. Norway maintained the lead and barely managed to win the match 28-27.
With eight points and winning four out of five matches, Norway’s handball team entered the round of sixteen stage and played their knockout stage match against Netherlands on December 11, 2011. Norway once again proved their worth
as a top team in the championship and won the knockout match 34-22. They will now play Croatia in the quarterfinals on December 14, 2011.
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