First victory: the Russian team beat the combined Korean team at the World Cup in handball

The Russian national team was to hold the second match at the World Handball Championship against, perhaps, the most unusual participants of the tournament - the combined team of Korea. Initially, only South Korean athletes who had become bronze medalists of the last Asian Championships were supposed to go to Germany. But last year, on the advice of the International Olympic Committee, they joined forces with the DPRK, and now a new team appeared in handball, serving under the blue and white flag with the image of the Korean Peninsula.

Such a step is more symbolic than practical. Two Koreas act as a united front in many sports, and handball only continued this trend. But if in table tennis or judo, such an association makes sense from a sports point of view, in handball assistance from North Korea has hardly proved to be useful. The first match between Koreans and Germany showed that the DPRK representatives do not play a big role in the national team - four players spent a total of less than half the time on the court and scored one goal.

Against such an unusual rival, the Russians had to go out and seek the first victory at the handball championship - the debut match with Serbia ended in an offensive draw. The work on the bugs was completed, and at the beginning of the meeting, the wards of Eduard Koksharov began to show a reliable game in defense. Already in the fifth minute, Dmitry Kiselev left the team in the minority for two minutes, but during that time only one ball flew into the gates of Viktor Kireev.

There were no problems in the attack, although there were some changes in the team. Young Sergei Mark Kosorotov came out on the left flank, and it was his throw that led the Russian team forward in the opening match. Wards Koksharov quickly felt the pace of the game and began to regularly run into fast-paced breakthroughs. In just ten minutes they managed to be implemented three times, and each time the performers were different.

Then the game calmed down a bit, and the attacks of the Russians became more malleable and adjusted. Instead of Timur Dibirov, the main striking force was Daniel Shishkaryov, whose help was so lacking in a game with the Serbs. The captain of the team this time was unstoppable and scored six goals in the first half with one penalty.

Korean handball players could not do anything and only watched their backlog growing. By the end of the first 30 minutes, it was seven points - 20:13 in favor of Russia. In this situation, Koksharov began to actively carry out the rotation and gave time to almost all players, and Alexander Shkurinsky tried on the deficient position of the right welterweight, who scored two goals himself, and gave two successful passes.

In the second half, there was a debut at the World Championships of Roman Ostashchenko and Alexei Fokin, and both were immediately marked by abandoned balls. Even when playing the second composition, the Russians increased the advantage in the long run, and in the 52nd minute it was already ten points. It is highly probable that, due to a draw with Serbia, the final distribution of places in the group will depend on the difference between the goals and goals conceded. Therefore, it was so important to open up the Koreans' defense as often as possible and carefully monitor your own.

Unfortunately, in the end of the meeting the Russians faced their main enemy - the lack of motivation to continue the match. In just two minutes, the Koreans were able to score three goals in a row, and the realized penalty left the advantage of the Russians just “+6”. Nothing threatened the victory of the Russians, and it was the realization of this fact that did not allow to return the former advantage. Returning to the site, the team leaders stopped the Korean team’s jerk and set the final score - 34:27.

If it were not for the last ten minutes, the game of the Russian team could be called close to perfect. But this segment again exposed problems in defense and dependence on individual performers, although it will certainly have a positive effect on the psychological state of reservists in the future. Wards Koksharov now have a day of rest to prepare for the match with the German national team. It is from this game, which will gather more than 13 thousand spectators, will depend on whether the Russians have chances to get into the next round of the World Cup.