BY ARMSTRONG VAS
Doha: Olympic and European champions France defeated a fighting Egypt 28-24 yesterday to register their second successive win at the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship and keep themselves in the hunt for a triple crown, while former champions Germany won a thriller against Russia.
Yesterday in a Group C clash at the Duhail Sports Complex, Egypt, backed by a vociferous crowd, tried to unsettle their more famed rivals but in the end Les Blues stood tall.
Two of the loudest and most colorful sections of supporters were actively cheering their respective teams during Group C clash.
The majority of fans who came to Duhail Sports Hall were supporting the Egyptian team using a wide selection of drums, pipes, songs and flags. However, the French fans did not lag behind despite the overall numeric advantage of the vociferous and melodic Egyptian supporters.
The Egyptians were almost constantly in the lead during the first-half and this was reflected by the singing and dancing of their fans in the stands.
However, towards the end of the first-half the French team seemed to get over their initial hesitation and began to gain the upper hand. Nikola Karabatic was leading Les Bleus by personal prowess and example while Mohamed Amer was crucial for the Egyptian scoring.
It looked as if the French were kick starting their engine by the end of the first period as the half finished 14-11 to the French. And there was no stopping them in the second half as they kept the North African side at bay with a consistent four or five goal gap. The closest Egypt came was a three goal difference on the 54th minute.
Despite lagging behind, the Egyptians maintained their enthusiasm but couldn’t match the French in both defence and attack. All their moves were dealt with accordingly by the French players.
Despite the French playing without one of their key players, Daniel Narcisse who was injured, Les Bleus were the confident winners in the end.
Amer top-scored for Egypt with five goals whereas Nikola Karanbatic netted a match-high six goals for France.
In another match at Duhail, Argentina, after their draw with Denmark in the first match, again faltered, narrowly losing to Poland 24-23.
For Poland, it was the tournament’s first victory after an unexpected defeat at the hands of neighbours Germany.
Having drawn with mighty Denmark in their opening game, Argentina were eager to keep the good form going. But the Poles had different ideas.
The Polish side didn’t impress in their first game against the Germans and were very keen to prove a point.
The game started quite cautiously on both sides. At the 20-minute mark, the Poles enjoyed a 10-9 lead.
In the second half, Diego Simone got a red card seven minutes before the end with the South Americans trailing 22-20. This affected Argentina’s scoring potential.
In the end Poland won by a one-goal difference. Diego Simone top-scored with five goals. Lujewski and the Jurecki brothers with five goals each did the bulk of the scoring for the Poles.
At Lusail Multipurpose Hall, Germany defeated Russia 27-26 in a Group D encounter to register their second successive win.
Russia had an easy opening game against the Saudis, while Germany proved their mettle in a strong performance beating the Poles in their first match.
Uwe Gensheimer top-scored for the Germans with nine goals while Konstantin Igropulo scored six for Russia. THE PENINSULA
