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Three continents were present on the court in the morning session of the second match day of the women’s Olympic competition – and Europe and Asia each took one decisive victory. After beating Angola quite clearly, Croatia can hope for a quarterfinal spot. Later-on the Koreans proved their medal ambitions by a close, but deserved victory against Denmark. With 4:0 points the Asians recently are on top of the table of group B.

Angola – Croatia 23-28 (11-13)

Croatia won a crucial duel with Angola in their preliminary group A women's handball match at the Copper Box on Monday - a potentially pivotal result in their bid to reach the quarterfinals. Croatia took both points with a 28-23 (13-11) victory in the first game of the second women's match day.

After losing their starter against Russia on Saturday, Angola now need at least two victories from their last three matches to keep their hopes for the knock-out stage alive, while Croatia are in a good position despite a loss to Brazil.

Maja ZEBIC (CRO), who scored nine times, and goalkeeper Ivana JELCIC (CRO) were Croatia's key players, while Marcelina KIALA (ANG) and Isabel GUIALO (ANG) were the top scorers with five goals each for the African champions, whose fighting spirit was not enough.

Thanks to a superb performance from JELCIC, who saved 50% of all Angolan shots in the first half, and a great catch-up chase with four straight goals before the halftime buzzer, the Croats took a 13-11 lead to the dressing rooms.

Having this psychological advantage after being down 9-11 in the 26th minute, the Europeans extended their lead to 17-11 with their eighth consecutive goal, resulting in an early Angolan time-out.

Though the African champions tried everything to reduce the margin and change the momentum, the Croats resisted the pressure. The precise back-court shots of Andrea PENEZIC (CRO) and the counterattacks of ZEBIC kept them in a comfortable position until 10 minutes before the end.

The Croats had a nervous final few minutes as Angola closed the gap to two goals, before PENEZIC and Lidija HORVAT (CRO) clinched the game with a double strike.

Statements after the match:

Coach Vivaldo EDUARDO (ANG) : “We started very well but it was hard to keep up in the second half. We are going to improve that to be ready for the next game with Montenegro and hopefully continue. It is our goal to reach the quarterfinal. With three games to go, we still have Great Britain, Montenegro and Brazil. We want to win the next two.

Player Marcelina KIALA (ANG): "We found it difficult to play against a very well-prepared Croatian team. Physically, they were superior and we succumbed under pressure from them. We will treat our next two games as a final.We will fight to the end and will make every effort humanly possible to get a victory in those two games against Great Britain and Montenegro."

Coach Vladimir CANJUGA (CRO) : "This is a good win and we have so many more tough matches ahead of us. We must not think we are in the quarterfinals now because we have Russia next and then more difficult opponents. I am happy with the performance but sometimes my team has a psychological blockage against opponents." 


Player Jelena GRUBISIC (CRO): "We definitely attacked better today than we did in the game against Brazil, we were more fast-breaking and had a fast centre. We have Russia, Montenegro and Great Britain next and we are very confident of making it to the quarterfinals."

Korea – Denmark 25-24 (11-10)

Korea maintained their 100% record in women's handball with a second victory against a top European opponent in preliminary round group B.

After beating Spain, the Asian champions secured a close, but deserved, 25-24 (11-10) victory against Denmark thanks to their defence and counter-attacks.

The Korean victory in the Copper Box was not only a major step towards the quarterfinals but also towards winning the preliminary stage group. It also meant revenge for Korea after they suffered defeats against Denmark at both the Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

The Danes remain on two points, but are still on course for the knockout stage. Top scorers were JO Hyobi (KOR) with five goals and Pernille LARSEN (DEN), who scored seven times for Denmark.

Both goalkeepers - JU Hui (KOR) and Christina PEDERSEN (DEN) - made their mark in the first half with their saves as both defences stood strong.

Korea were as much as four goals ahead but could not shake off their opponents, as the Danish back court players, such as Trine TROELSEN (DEN), Camilla DALBY (DEN) and Line JORGENSEN (DEN), took advantage of their extra height before the break.

After finishing the first half ahead 11-10, the Asian champions missed several big chances - including two penalty shots - at the start of the second half, so the game remained tight.

But Korea, backed by the saves of JU (KOR) and boosted by some fluid counter-attacking goals, regained their dominance and extended the gap to five goals at 21-16.

Even the final tactic of Danish coach Jan PYTLICK (DEN), who replaced the goalkeeper with a seventh court player, did not endanger the Asians, who decided the result three minutes before the end when they went 25-20 ahead.

Four straight Danish goals came too late, so the Koreans could start their victory dance on the court on the final buzzer.

Statements after the match:

Player Mette MELGAARD (DEN): "We are very disappointed. We had problems scoring during the game. It was very difficult against Korea because they play a lot different to what we are used to. In the end we did good, and it was good that we fought back. We are almost there but we need to be more focused in front of goal. We need to correct a few things and try and score more goals."

Player Trine TROELSEN (DEN): "Korea are one of the quickest, if not the quickest, team in the competition. They were much faster than we were around the court and it showed. But we gave them a real fight at the end and almost got level. We want to finish as high in the group as possible to get a slightly easier quarterfinal and this is obviously a setback. But we can pick ourselves up and improve."

Coach KANG Jae Won (KOR): "I felt the Korean team won very easily. There are times where we missed points but we just have to be careful in future."There are so many games yet to play. We have to do our upmost to get further."

Player LEE Eun Bi (KOR): "It is the first time I have played in the Olympics and it has been a dream come true."