WOMEN'S COMPETITION
BULGARIA – THAILAND 26:25 (13:17)
It was the winner of the Asian IHF Trophy that had a better start of the game, as the Thai girls had a 2:7 lead after 15 minutes in the first half, when the Bulgarian coach Hristo Koev was forced to call for a time-out. This however did not alter anything on the court and after 20 minutes the scoreboard showed 4:11 in favour of Thailand as the Bulgarian bench in an attempt to stop the downhill trip of their team asked for the second team time out in the first half. This turned out to be positive for the Bulgarian team as they decreased the deficit to 4 goals by the end of the half time that ended 13:17 in favour of the Asian team.
Bulgaria scored two goals in a row in the beginning of the second half time, but it was goal-for-goal game up to the 50th minute ever since. It was a match dominated by the good defence of both teams and some great goalkeeping on both sides. It was the 51st minute of the match when Bulgaria equalized the result for the first time in the second half as both teams had 22 goals behind their name. The last ten minutes of the game were a really thrilling affair. Neither side could make an advantage and the game went into the final minute with 25 goals each. In the end, the experience of the European team prevailed, and 30 seconds before the end, they scored the final goal to win the game with a final 26:25.
Stanislava Dimitrova and Bogovetsa Yosifova scored seven goals each for Bulgaria, but it was their goalkeeper Kristina Milanova that brought them the victory stopping two decisive fast breaks of the Thai team when the result was breaking. Nittaya Joisakoo was the best Thai player scoring seven times for her team.
CANADA – DR CONGO 20:29 (9:16)
The champion of the African Continental Phase of the IHF Trophy, the team from DR Congo, had the better start of the match, as after 10 minutes they forced the Canadian coach to call for the first team time out of the game. At this time, the scoreboard showed 1:5 in favour of the African outfit. This stabilized the game of the Canadian team, but over the first thirty minutes the team from Africa was the better one on the court. They went to the dressing room with a seven-goal advantage.
The African champion also had a better opening of the second half, and only after scoring three goals in a row in the first three minutes they already had a ten-goal advantage. After this the game became a little bit hectic, with a lot of technical mistakes on both sides. In such a game, none of the teams could do much and the final result was 20:20 in favour of the girls from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Emily Routhier scored 8 goals for Canada on an afternoon they will try to forget, while Joceline Benzuka Ngunza found the back of the Canadian net 9 times. It was the Congolese goalkeeper, Francoise Kashibala Tshibola, who took all the glory as she was declared player of the match.
In order to be one hundred per cent sure they will end on the podium, the girls from Canada will need to win the final game against Australia, while the girls from Congo will play a real final against Bulgaria tomorrow to decide who will win the II IHF Trophy InterContinental Phase. In case of a draw, due to the better goal difference, the Trophy will travel to Africa together with the girls from the banks of Congo River.
MEN'S COMPETITION
UZBEKISTAN – MOLDOVA 31:41 (17:22)
In the first fifteen minutes of the encounter between the European and the Asian winner of the Continental IHF Trophies, the two former Soviet Republics showed the best handball so far on the IHF Trophy. It was a very equal opening and after 24 minutes the score stood at 15 goals each. It was the first time on this tournament that the Moldovan team was challenged in such a way. This woke up the Moldovan team, as they did not want to leave anything to chance and by half time they already had a five goals lead.
In the beginning of the second half time, the team from Moldova increased the goal difference to 10 goals in the 37th minute, but Uzbekistan had no intention of surrendering as they scored 4 goals in a row to make it 26:32. However, this only motivated the European outfit, they shifted a gear up, and in the 54th minute it was 27:36 again. They continued with this tempo until the end of the game for final 31:41.
Umidjon Abdollayev was the most outstanding player for Uzbekistan scoring 13 times, while Victor Vartic scored 10 for Moldova, followed by 9 goals from Victor Carali.
This result means that Moldova has won the II InterContinental Phase of the IHF Trophy, and after Finland, they are the second European country to do so. They have showed an outstanding performance throughout the tournament and they will deservedly lift the Trophy. Uzbekistan will have a chance tomorrow to fight for the second place against Mexico, depending on the result of Nigeria as well.
AUSTRALIA – MEXICO 14:30 (6:13)
The host nation and the organizer of the II IHF Trophy InterContinental Phase Mexico took early control of the result, and after ten minutes they already had a 1:5 lead. After this initial period, the team from down under managed to stabilize their game and more importantly to tighten their defence. Until the end of the half they conceded only 8 more goals.
In the second half time Australia played well until the 48th minute when the host with a series of goals increased the goal difference to ten at 13:23. From this moment the team from North America constantly increased their lead to comfortably win the game with 14:30.
Harry Watson was the best marksman for Australia scoring seven goals, while Genaro Chavez Armenta led his team to victory by scoring 10 goals for Mexico.
If host Mexico wins tomorrow against Uzbekistan they will win the silver medal, while Australia will have a difficult task to avoid the last spot in a match against the winner of the African Continental Phase, Nigeria.