Today, 4 November, saw the 2nd day of competition of the I IHF InterContinental Challenge Trophy. As the teams have already got accustomed to the venue and had the possibility to test each other’s strengths, it was again exciting today in Kazakhstan’s largest city, where the continental winners are competing to win the I IHF Women’s Intercontinental Challenge Trophy.

CONGO vs. FINLAND 21:25 (10:15)
Finland had a chance to recuperate today from the surprise defeat they suffered yesterday against Cuba, and they did so in style, winning 21:25 against Congo, already having a comfortable lead by half-time with 5 goals. But it wasn’t a one-sided match at all. The team of Congo, just like against Kazakhstan yesterday, proved to be a very tough nut to crack. Their physical performance is amazing and their team led by Eyoma Yoma Viy, who scored 8 goals, showed their European counterparts that they will not be a pushover tonight. Unlike Congo, Finland had a much better team performance and three of their players managed to score 4 times in the opponent’s net (Bockelman, Jantti, Lindholm). This puts Finland back on track and opens them a new possibility to fight for a spot in the final against host Kazakhstan tomorrow.

CUBA vs. KAZAKHSTAN 27:37 (13:21)
Cuba could not repeat their great performance from yesterday when they managed to beat Finland, and succumbed to a clear defeat against the organizer Kazakhstan. The Pan American winner led by Vergara Garcia who scored 7 times, never posed a real threat to the host, and already at half-time it was clear in whose sails the winds are blowing. Kazakhstan showed another great performance and cashed further two points in their bag. Latkina leads the scorers list, managing to put the ball 8 times behind the opponent’s goalkeeper. This win makes Kazakhstan a big favourite for retaining the Trophy at home.