Will South Korea's women's handball catch Slovenia and virtually confirm the quarterfinals

The South Korean women's handball team, led by head coach Henrik Signel, will play the second Group A match against Slovenia at South Paris Arena 6 in Paris, France, at 6 p.m. on the 28th (Korea time).

This is a watershed moment for advancing to the quarterfinals. In this year's event, six teams will be divided into two groups to compete for skills. The Korean team must rank within the top four in each group to advance to the quarterfinals. Korea initially set a goal of advancing to the quarterfinals by beating its first and second opponents, Germany and Slovenia.

Korea will have a showdown with Slovenia, the "victory sacrifice." Korea had a memory of losing to Slovenia 27-31 at last year's World Championship. At that time, Slovenia finished 11th and Korea 22nd. Korea is determined to avenge its pain with words this time.

The mood is good. Korea had a thrilling come-from-behind victory against Germany in the first match held on Saturday. Korea was once losing 14-18 against Germany. However, Ryu Eun-hee and Kang Kyung-min scored in a row to turn the game around. Korea won the match 23-22. "I'm happy to win. I'm proud of the players who have prepared really hard. They have shown improvement every day. They beat Germany, a strong opponent. Especially in defense, they played the best game since I came. It may not be easy for players to adapt to foreign leaders, but they followed me well and gained trust. They are improving their performance as well," he said.

Moreover, Slovenia lost to Denmark 19-27 in the first game, and there is a sense of crisis. Coach Signel said, "From the standpoint of Slovenia, it will come out like a war to win the game against us. I think we are in a inferior position in terms of power, and I will prepare well to continue the flow."

Slovenia's No. 1 player on alert is Ana Gross. She scored five goals alone against Denmark. Ryu Eun-hee, who played for both sides of the team, said, "Gross's performance has increased recently. He plays a lot based on the player. If he ties up Gross well, he will have a good game." Ryu was recently named as one of the top 10 female players for the Paris Olympics by the International Handball Federation (IHF). She led the team by scoring six goals alone in the first match against Germany. Ryu's performance is also very important in the match against Slovenia. It is also worth paying attention to the performances of Kang Kyung-min, who led the attack along with Ryu, and Park Sae-young, who defended Korea's back door firmly.

Meanwhile, the Korean women's handball team has made it to the finals for 11 consecutive Olympics since the 1984 Los Angeles Games. The team won a total of six medals including two gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal. It touched Korea with its "Usaengsoon" (the best moment of our lives). However, the team had no medal since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In Rio 2016, it was the first time for the team to be eliminated from the group stage. In Tokyo, it only advanced to the quarterfinals.

"I hope it will not be in vain for the athletes to sweat every day. We know that this Olympics will be a difficult challenge for us. Overseas, people will not think of us as favorites. However, we have skills that no other European country has. We need to make good use of our own characteristics. If we trust ourselves, pursue our values, and fulfill our goals well in defense and offense, we will be a tough opponent for everyone. We will be able to surprise and make it difficult for our opponents," Cignell said in a media day before the Olympics.
 

BY: 안전놀이터