Sports On The Blog

(BEIJING, August 8) — France and Angola are the first two teams to enter the field of play at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium and the home crowd will be eager to see China taking on European powerhouse Norway in the evening as the Women’s Handball competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games starts on Saturday, August 9.

Here is an overview of the contenders in Saturday’s prelims:

FRA v ANG

A fourth place at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games is the best Olympic result for France so far. Angola came ninth in Athens. Their best Olympic result to date came at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games when they finished seventh.

It’s the third consecutive appearance for the French Women at Olympics whereas for the Angolan Women it is their fourth Olympic tournament in a row.

A tight match can be expected as France finished fifth at the 2007 World Championships, only two places ahead of Angola in seventh. But France won both of their two previous matches against Angola at Olympic Games (2000: 29-27, 2004: 29-21)

The French Women’s best international result to date came at 2003 World Championships when they claimed their maiden world title. Angola is the African champion. They beat the Ivory Coast 39-27 in the final of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

HUN v SWE

Hungary is an often-seen participant at Olympic Handball tournaments with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games being their sixth appearance.

Sweden this year managed to get out of the shadow of their male counterparts and qualified for the first time for the Olympic Games. Their best international result to date is a sixth place at the 1993 World Championships in Norway.

Hungary’s history in Women’s Handball has been a quite successful one. They managed to claim nine medals - 1 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze - at world championships, three medals at Olympic Games - 1 silver, 2 bronze - and one bronze at European championships. Their last international title dates back to 2005 when they won bronze at the world championships in Russia.

One of Sweden’s key players is goalkeeper Madeleine Grundstrom who plays for Danish club F.C. Copenhagen. She has established herself as one of the premier players in the Danish league, which is regarded as one of the strongest in Women’s Handball.

ROU v KAZ

Kazakhstan walked a controversial path to Beijing and their first appearance at Olympic Games. First the International Handball Federation decided to annul both the Men’s and the Women’s results from the qualifying tournament after an alleged match-fixing scandal. In March 2008 the Court of Arbitration for Sport handed down a ruling that reinstated the Kazakhstan Women.

Romania qualified for the Olympics after winning the qualifying tournament in Bucharest.

Romanian key players are goalkeeper Luminita Dinu and Ionela Stanca, who was named Best Pivot of the 2007 World Championships in France in which Romania finished fourth. In 2005 the team claimed silver at the World Championships in Russia.

Kazakhstan came 18th at the 2007 World Championships. The two teams have never played each other at Olympics or world championships.

RUS v KOR

Three-time world champion Russia (2007, 2005, 2001) is the hot favorite for gold in the Women’s competition, especially after Olympic champion Denmark failed to qualify for Beijing.

Russia relies on the strength of goalkeeper Inna Suslina who was rated third most effective goal stopper at the 2007 World Championships, and on the combined force of Oxana Romenskaya and Liudmila Postnova who make Russia’s defense one of the toughest to penetrate.

But Republic of Korea is not likely to make it easy for Russia as they also came to Beijing with strong hopes for gold. They finished off the podium just once in their last six Olympic appearances (fourth at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games) and were able to claim gold twice (1988 in Seoul and 1992 in Barcelona).

Out of six matches at Olympics and world championships, Russia could win four and the ROK two, with the last one going to Russia 32-27 at the 2005 World Championships.

NOR v CHN

Norway clinched their place in the final rounds of the Olympics following their triumph at the 2006 European Championships in Stockholm, Sweden. They beat Russia 27-24 in the gold medal match.

Players to watch out for are team captain Gro Hammerseng and Katja Nyberg who was voted Most Valuable Player at the 2007 World Championships.

China won a bronze medal at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games but never got anywhere close to medal since. At the 2007 World Championships in France they finished 21st following a 36-15 win over the Dominican Republic in their classification match.

China is coached by former ROK national team player Kang Jae-Won who was named the World Player of the Year in 1989.

GER v BRA

Starting with the appointment of Armin Emrich as national coach in 2005 Germany’s Women’s Handball team seems to be back on track after almost a decade of steady decline, including failing to qualify for the 2001 World Championships.

Emrich led the German team to sixth place in the 2005 World Championships in Russia, his team came fourth at the 2006 European Championships and even jumped on the podium one year later, snatching bronze at the 2007 worlds.

The Brazilian defense needs to be on high alert for German right wing Grit Jurack who scored 75 goals at the 2007 World Championships and became the tournament’s top scorer.

One of Pan-American champion Brazil’s key players is pivot Fabiana Diniz who was among the first Brazilian players to venture into European club Handball.

For both team it’s their third appearance at Olympic Games.

The Men’s Football tournament of Beijing 2008 will kick off on August 7.

In the curtain-raising match, Group A team Australia will take on Serbia. The match is also Serbia’s first Olympic appearance as an independent nation since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia’s best Olympic result was at Los Angeles 1984 when it claimed a bronze medal.

The other Group A match will be between Argentina and Côte d’Ivoire. Argentina has won six consecutive FIFA World Youth Championship titles, including the most recent one in Canada in 2007. The defending gold medalist is poised to add another medal to its collection. With Sergio Aguero, Lionel Messi and its midfield powerhouse Juan Roman Riquelme in the squad, there’s no doubt that Argentina is the tournament favorite.

Côte d’Ivoire, which is making its Olympic debut, will definitely cause some trouble for Argentina. In its recent warm-up match against the Netherlands, the in-form Côte d’Ivoire held its highly-rated rival to a draw. Côte d’Ivoire’s potential cannot be underestimated.

In Group B, Japan will take on the United States. Japan won a bronze medal in 1964 by beating the host Mexico, the only time that an Asian country has won an Olympic medal in Men’s Football. However, Japan has been unimpressive at the last three Olympic Games.

The United States has qualified for the Olympics on 13 occasions, including five in a row from 1984 to 2000. Its best achievement is fourth at Sydney 2000. This United States squad, which features good footballers such as Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu and Jonathan Spector, is regarded as well-organized and is expected to perform well at Beijing 2008.

The other Group B match is between two heavyweights: the Netherlands and Nigeria. The Netherlands won three Olympic bronze medals in 1908, 1912 and 1920. However, it hasn’t appeared at the Olympics for 56 years. Following on from its win at the 2007 European U-21 Championships, the Netherlands is expected to make a successful Olympic comeback.

Nigeria has quite a few talented players such as Obina Nsofor and Promise Isaac. This squad is similar to the team that took the silver medal at the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands.

Brazil will take on Belgium in a Group C match. Five-time World Cup champion Brazil has yet to win an Olympic gold medal. With Ronaldinho and Robinho in the squad, Brazil will fight hard to break its Olympic drought. Belgium’s last appearance at the Olympics was in 1920, four years after they won an Olympic gold medal in 1916.

Also in Group C, host China will play New Zealand. China had a disappointing Olympic debut at Seoul 1988. As host, China directly qualified for its second Olympic appearance. New Zealand is making its Olympic debut and it boasts a couple of footballers who play in the A-League in Australia that may improve the chances of the Kiwis.

In Group D, Italy will face Honduras. The winner of five European U-21 championships, Italy is undoubtably one of the gold medal favorites. Honduras, however, is a dangerous opponent. Led by Inter Milan star David Suazo, the team’s all-out attack style of football may produce an upset and give its fans a pleasant surprise.

Cameroon, the gold medalist at Sydney 2000, will encounter the Republic of Korea in the other Group D match. Following its impressive performance in the qualifiers, the in-form Indomitable Lions (Cameroon’s nickname) are poised to maul their opponents. By comparison, the Republic of Korea’s track record is less brilliant. It scraped past the group stage at Athens 2004. But with its never-say-die attitude, it will strive to be Asia’s best performed team.

Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/football/n214509344.shtml