Three times world champion Russia seek to enter final at Beijing Olympic women's handball
20/8/2008 17:55
After muscling out France in a thrilling two-overtime quarterfinal, three
times world titlist Russia seek to beat Hungary tomorrow to reach the final of
Beijing Olympic women's handball event.
"Women are mysterious," that was what
Russian coach Evgeny Trefilov complained about his team's inconsistency after a
preliminary game.
It is true. The Russian handball team is unpredictable.
Winning three world titles in 2001, 2005 and 2007, they never managed to book a
ticket in the Olympic Games.
Moreover, the Russian squad remained
inconsistent in Beijing, with their matches often featured an ill-form half
time.
In their opening game against South Korea, Russia enjoyed a comfortable
nine points lead midway in the second half. But the world titlist suffered a
nightmare in the final quarter of the game, with all the advantage nibbled and
both sides tied 29-29 in the end.
In yesterday's quarterfinal, Russia also
suffered an early setback, trailing France, fifth placer in 2007 World
Champiponship, with a four points deficit in the first half. Luckily the
Russians regained their tempi in time to even the score after the break and
upset the opponent in the second extra time.
In tomorrow's semifinal, Russia
will take on Hungary, a team that they trounced 33-24 in the round-robin
stage.
But Trefilov's side will not enjoy an easy game, because the
Hungarians posed great trouble to them in their previous encounter, only lagging
behind with one point in the first half.
European champ Norway and South
Korea, runner-up at Athens Games, will fight for the other final berth. Both
teams had pinned their hope on the gold, but the Asians held a higher
profile.
"I still feel regretful to lose the title to Denmark in Athens four
years ago. Our aim in Beijing is still the gold medal. Currently, our players
are all in a solid form. We will try our best to bring the gold back to our
country," said South Korean pivot Huh Soon-young, who received a silver in the
Athens Games.
Xinhua
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