The finallists of the 2017 IHF Women's U17 Beach Handball World Championship and 2018 EHF EURO U18 were both defeated in their semi-finals earlier today at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Sarmiento Park, Buenos Aires.
2018 Youth Olympic Games – Buenos Aires
Matchday 6: Women’s Finals Day – Saturday 13 October
- Argentina defeated world champions Hungary in a shoot-out
- Croatia were dominant against Netherlands, winning 2:0
- Results mean both finals in the men's and women's competitions will be Argentina vs Croatia
- Netherlands had beaten Croatia and Hungary had defeated Argentina in Mauritius at 2017 world championship
- Hungary and Netherlands will now play for bronze, but contested the world championship final last year and U18 EHF EURO this year
- Semi-finals played this morning, bronze and gold matches this afternoon
For the match schedules and results click HERE and HERE. How to Follow the Games HERE.
Women’s Finals Day
Semi-Final 1: Hungary vs Argentina 1:2 (18:20, 16:12, SO 6:7)
As is usually the case in the last matches of beach handball tournaments, the first semi-final went down to a shoot-out, such is the closeness in quality of both teams and this Youth Olympic Games were no different.
In the shoot-out Hungary missed their first shot after Dorottya Gajdos was penalised for barging the goalkeeper, but the host nation could not capitalise as Zoe Turnes saw her subsequent shot saved by the Netherlands.
At 4:4, Lucila Balsas then saw her shot saved and the home crowd started to worry about their team grabbing a place in the final, but in more drama, pivot Rebeka Benzsay missed her shot. It then went to 6:6 after five shots and a second, sudden-death round.
As the home fans prepared for more shots, Hungary's Csenge Braun missed the opportunity to put the pressure on their opponents and, presented with just a single point to take the win, Caterina Bendetti Gorga sunk home to guarantee her side a medal.
Semi-Final 2: Netherlands vs Croatia 0:2 (12:19, 16:18)
Croatian winger Anja Vida Luksic scored eight points to help her side to a surprising 2:0 victory over Netherlands, gaining revenge for their main round loss at the 2017 IHF Women's U17 Beach Handball World Championship, held in Mauritius last year.
"It was a tough game but we were very strong in our heads," said Croatian specialist Ana Malec to IHF.info. "We knew it was going to be hard, but we fought very strong. We knew we could do it and we did it. We have never beaten Netherlands, here, we only won one set in our previous game, and now it's 2:0."
Matches (all times local)
15:00 Bronze Medal (3/4 Place): Netherlands vs Hungary
16:40 Gold Medal (1/2 Place): Argentina vs Croatia