▲ Jung Yu-ra scores a goal just before the game ends


The Korean women's handball team won the match against Japan and won their first victory at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.



Korea, led by coach Kang Jae-won, defeated Japan 27-24 in the third round of the women's handball group group A held at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on the 29th.



Korea, which lost in the first and second rounds against European powers such as Norway and the Netherlands, won the third match against Korea and Japan, turning on a green light for advancing to the quarterfinals.



Korea will play the 4th game against Montenegro at 11 am on the 31st.



Group A includes Korea, Norway, Netherlands, Japan, Montenegro and Angola, with the top four countries advancing to the quarterfinals.



If Korea wins the remaining matches against Montenegro and Angola, it can secure a place in the quarterfinals on its own.



South Korea and Japan had 1 win and 2 losses side by side, and Montenegro, who had 1 win and 1 loss, will play Norway in the third game in the next match.



With today's victory, Korea reaffirmed its power superiority by running 15 consecutive matches against Japan after a 22-22 draw at the 2010 Asian Championships.



Korea Rep. lead 12-9 at the end of the first half, conceding consecutive goals from Japan's Shiho Fujii and Aya Yokoshima, leading the first half by one goal difference.



With about 1 minute and 20 seconds left in the first half, Jin-i Kim (Busan Facilities Corporation) was sent off for 2 minutes, and was outnumbered until the beginning of the second half.



However, in the first attack in the second half, Ryu Eun-hui (Hungarian Doctrine) was lucky to hit the post, and Lee Mi-kyung (Japan Omron) and Ryu Eun-hee ran away with three goals again in a 13-12 situation.



Then, in the middle of the second half, leading 19-16, Lee Mi-kyung's 7m throw made 20-16, and then Jung Yu-ra (Daegu City Hall) scored with a long shot into the empty goal of Japan, where they played without a goalkeeper, widening the gap to five goals.



In Korea, Eun-hee Ryu scored 9 goals and Yu-ra Jung and Mi-kyung Lee scored 4 goals each.