Tokyo (AFP)
The French handball players snatched their place in the quarter-finals of the Tokyo Games by dominating Brazil (29-22) on Monday in a match that looked like the eighth-final at Yoyogi Stadium.
In search of Olympic gold in Tokyo, the only title missing from their charts, the Blue may however inherit the big favorites, the Norwegians, in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Unless Spain bowed to Russia during the day (2:15 p.m. local), which would offer them a more affordable opponent: certainly the Dutch, if not the Montenegrins who clash (7:30 p.m. local) in the other group.
In the meantime, the players of Olivier Krumbholz ended their streak of three games without a win and achieved a second success, decisive for qualification, against Brazilians who also played their survival in the competition.
Relieved, the Blue ones exploded with joy and sang "we are not going home".
Sign that they feared perhaps a Japanese curse, they who had left in the first round of the Worlds-2019 in Kumamoto.
Spent the first ten minutes hung (5-5), the band of Estelle Nze Minko never trembled against Brazil, which had held in check the Russians (24-24).
They have notably forged their success with long shots, scoring almost as much at nine meters as in their four previous matches, where they had been timid (8 against 9 so far).
The gap was made at the break (17-11) but it once again weakened according to the fluctuations in the game of the Blue.
The world champions (2017) and Europe (2018) experienced a passage of loss of ball and efficiency against the cages after returning from the locker room.
The French conceded a 5-1 and saw the Brazilians come back from 18-11 to 19-16.
Without consequence against a team of lower caliber but this error had cost them dearly against the Swedes (28-28) or the Russians (defeat 28-27).
© 2021 AFP