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.

Tennis has its roots in the ancient game of handball, played in Greece long before the Christian era. During the Middle Ages it developed into a game of batting the ball between two opponents rather than against a wall. The name comes from the French “tenez,” “take” or “ready.” At first there were no boundary lines, but gradually a court was developed somewhat the shape of an hourglass, with a line drawn across the narrow middle portion.

The early balls were made of leather and stuffed with hair.

The racquet developed in the following way: for protection in hitting the ball, a glove was worn. Then, for greater protection, cords were wrapped around the glove. Later, an elongated glove, or paddle was used. With the need for a longer reach, the idea of a racquet evolved from the combination of paddle and cords.

In the Middle Ages the game was carried to England where it was played by the nobility. The scoring system was so intricate that the common people could not understand it, and the courts so expensive that only the wealthy had access to them. Not until 1874 was the scoring simplified and the game rules made adaptable for a simple outdoor court of grass.

The use of “fifteen,” “thirty,” etc. in scoring individual points may be explained as follows: The chases, or separate plays, were scored 1, 2, 3, etc. Fifteen “chases” entitled the player to one point, and the game was made up of four or five points. This explanation is one of several suggested by tennis historians and seems to be plausible.

The term “love” meaning “no score” originated from the phrase “for love,” meaning “without stakes” or “for nothing,” which was used as early as 1678 in connection with the playing of competitive games for the pleasure of playing. Then “love” became the term used in whist, football, tennis, etc., meaning “no score.” The side which had scored no points was said to be “love.”

After the scoring and rules were simplified, tennis became a more universal game in England and France, spreading rapidly to the colonies of these countries. Tennis was brought to the United States in 1875 by Mary Outerbridge after a visit to Bermuda, where the game was very popular. She brought racquets, net, and balls, and introduced the game to her friends on Staten Island where smooth lawns with excellent grass provided an ideal medium for success. The game spread like wild fire all over the east with Cricket Clubs including tennis as well as the other English game for their members.

In 1881 the United States Lawn Tennis Association was formed in New York and Boston. Through this organization the popularity of tennis spread very rapidly. Comparatively few of the tournaments in the United States are played on grass, and yet all official tournaments, whether on clay, cement, or asphalt courts, are sponsored by the U. S. L. T. A. There are city, state, sectional, and national tournaments played on different court surfaces for men, women, girls, boys, juniors. There are public park tournaments, intercollegiate tournaments, etc.

International competition consists of the Davis Cup Tournament, which originated in 1900. The Davis Cup has been around the world several times, being held by Australia, France, England, and the United States at various intervals. This competition is for men only.

The Wightman Cup Matches consist of competition for women between England and the United States. This cup has traveled across the Atlantic many times, borne by the victorious team, to rest in their native land until won back by the other team.

The majority of national tournaments in various countries are open to players from other lands, so that sometimes one hears of an English, French, or American star winning several national titles besides that of his own country.

Often the best sixty-four players who make entries for the state, sectional, or national tournaments are allowed to play. The qualification of a player consists of his tournament record during the year or years previous to that tournament.

This is a brief history of the wonderful game of tennis. Now you can enjoy playing it even more!

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

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