The rainy weather did not stop the participants at the 2017 World Games to show their best during the quarter-finals in the morning. Unlike yesterday’s matches in the preliminary round, the quarter-final games turned out as expected.

 

Norway vs Chinese Taipei 2:0 (27:14, 24:13)

After yesterday’s preliminary match against the defending World Games champions Brazil, Chinese Taipei got another splendid lecture from Norway, the reigning European Champions. And as they admitted yesterday, the young team of Chinese Taipei came here to gain as much experience as possible and their 2:0 defeat did not stop their great mood.

 

Chien Chen Chen, the captain of the Chinese Taipei team, commented: “Firstly, it’s really great experience to meet the top teams, learn their high level skills and technics. Even though we don’t score much, we enjoy it. When playing with Brazil yesterday, we felt that they were more enjoying the game than Norway. Norway was really concentrated, they made sure they make every step they wanted to make. But I really admire their attitude and the fair play.

 

Poland vs Spain 0:2 (12:16, 10:17)

After their defeat with Norway yesterday, the Spaniards were hungry for a win.

 

The hosts won the first throw-off but did not manage to turn it into a goal. The Spaniards missed their first chance to score as well and it was Poland who eventually got in the lead scoring two times in a row.

 

Spain had to wait until the 6-metre penalty for their first goal, but soon the Poland team stroke back to 5:2. At the very finish of the first half of the first period, the Spanish side managed to level the score to 6:6 and did not take them much time to get in the saddle and to widen the gap to a score of 8:12. They kept their lead for the rest of the period and won by 4 points, 12:16.

 

Soon after the first whistle of the second period, Spain scored the first goal and continued their relentless defence. To every Polish attempt, Spain responded with immediate revenge. The gap got bigger and after Spain scored to 4:13, Poland requested a time-out in the 6th minute. But their quick briefing did not help against their strong opponents. The match ended 10:17 and the Spanish side celebrated the victory they needed the most.

 

“We were really motivated to win, cause we really want to earn a medal.  We had free afternoon yesterday, so we digested the defeat with Norway, had time to rebuilt ourselves and to prepare for the upcoming matches which are crucial for us,” said Silva Lladró Fernández.

 

Argentina vs Australia 2:1 (16:13, 12:18, 8:4)

In the first period, Argentina played both hard offence and defence and overcame their opponents from Australia with a 16:13 win.

 

The Australians came back into the game more motivated and turned first four scores into a 0:7 lead which they kept for the rest of the period and after their 12:18 win, the match had to be decided by shoot-outs.

 

Argentina got a second breath and unlike Australia, who netted only two times, Argentina turned four of their attempts into goals and won the shoot-outs 8:4.

 

Carolina Rossi from Argentina felt much more confident than the very first day of the competition: “We corrected the mistakes from yesterday and give our best as this was a really important match for us. Winning it is like a dream. We have been preparing ourselves for a lot of years. We keep on playing our game, catching every opportunity we have.”

 

Brazil vs Tunisia 2:0 (28:10, 20:10)

Brazil added their fourth win on their journey to become World Games champions again. Although the Brazilians outclassed their opponents, their approach to a game never changes. “We always play with a lot of motivation. We play every game like it was the finals, we never relax,” explained Juliana Oliveira, one of the youngest players of the team.

 

In the afternoon semi-finals, reigning European Champions of Norway will meet Uruguay. Spain, 2016 world champions, will face Brazil, defending World Games winners.