Goalkeeper Karim Hendawy made an amazing performance to lead Egypt to the quarter-finals of the men's handball competition at the Tokyo Olympics, after a big 27-22 victory over Sweden on Friday.
Egypt grabbed the second group rank from Sweden, with a difference of direct confrontations, as they each have 6 points.
Denmark leads the group with 6 points before facing Portugal later in the day.
Bahrain achieved its first victory ever in the men's handball competitions at the Olympics, after defeating Japan 32-30.
Bahrain is ranked fifth with two points, while Japan is at the bottom of the ranking without a balance.
Last January, Egypt lost 24-23 to Sweden in the World Championship, despite its 12-9 lead in the first half.
At that time, Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Balitska said that the uprising in the second half was due to the Spanish coach Roberto Garcia Barrondo's dependence on 7 players, and the lack of involvement of other players.
But it seems that the Spanish coach learned from this and relied on 11 players, in addition to two others, in the last minutes to avoid fatigue.
Hindawi made an amazing performance and saved 17 of 38 attempts on his goal, while Balitska saved 9 attempts from 31 balls on his own, and reserve goalkeeper Mikkel Agfors saved two attempts from 7.
You are a hero, Kreeiiiiiiiiiim, where did you get all this, Katungaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?
— ESN |
Egypt at Tokyo 2021 (@ESNEgypt_) July 30, 2021
Egypt started the match strongly and advanced 5-2 before Sweden reduced the difference to one goal after 11 minutes.
But the Egyptian team continued to dominate thanks to the brilliance of Hindawi and winger Mohamed Sanad and Ali Zain, making the score 9-4.
Coach Barondo's team did not face a problem in the first half, which ended 13-9.
The Egyptian superiority continued at the beginning of the second half, as the difference reached 18-12 at the 39th minute.
Egypt's performance declined slightly, which allowed Sweden to score 3 consecutive goals, reducing the difference to 18-15.
🇸🇪🆚🇪🇬 A clash that is usually close but has seen only one win for Egypt in 10 encounters.
That win was at #Rio2016.
Can the African champions clinch the two points against the vice-world champions today?
#Olympics pic.twitter.com/vlMpJD95dF
— International Handball Federation (@ihf_info) July 30, 2021
Yahya Al Deraa, Omar Khaled and Ahmed Hisham "Dodo" returned to shine as Egypt regained its supremacy 22-16 7 minutes before the end.
Sweden's attempts to reduce the difference failed to receive a big loss before facing Denmark at the end of the group, while Egypt plays against Bahrain.
first win
The Bahraini men's team is participating in the Olympics for the first time and performed well before losing by one goal to Sweden and then Portugal.
Japan finished the first half in their favour, 17-16, but Bahrain turned things around in the first 10 minutes after the break.
Japan equalized 24-24 and things remained equal until Muhammad Ali gave Bahrain a 31-29 lead with one minute and 40 seconds left.
After Japan reduced the difference to one goal, Mohammed Ahmed decided Bahrain's first victory in the Olympics in the last 37 seconds.
France takes the lead
France taught its counterpart Spain a harsh lesson and suffered the biggest defeat in 5 years after winning 36-31 in the first set.
France finished top of the group after raising its score to 8 points, and Spain secured second place.
The confrontation between France and the European champions was tied until the 13th minute of the first half, when the score was 6-6.
🇫🇷 36⚡31 🇪🇸
Les Bleus s'imposent as patrons dans un match mené de bout en bout 👏#BleuetFier #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/7MrWzRoRUh
— Equipes de France de Handball (@FRAHandball) July 30, 2021
France took advantage of Spain's defense decline and many mistakes on the offensive level to advance 13-8.
France finished the first half leading 18-12 and only had to maintain the difference in the second half.
This is Spain's biggest defeat since losing 24-17 to Germany in the 2016 European Championship final.
It is also France's biggest win over Spain since its 28-21 victory at the Beijing Olympics.
Brazil withstood the uprising of its rival Argentina to win 25-23, despite advancing 14-7 in the first half.
Brazil achieved its first victory in the tournament, raising its score to two points in fifth place, while Argentina is bottom of the standings without a score.