It was a day full of surprises in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, as the second day of the IHF Trophy came to a close.

The day started with a match between Tahiti and Cabo Verde. Encouraged by their huge win against Uzbekistan, the African team was a clear favorite but the team from Tahiti had their story to tell. Tahiti opened the match well, and managed to create a 3 goals cushion early, a lead they held on to half time when the scoreboard showed 11:8. As the second half started, the spectators in the Orlovets hall were expecting to see a change of the result, but instead the team from Tahiti took the match into calm waters winning easily 29:24 in the end. Once again Tehaurii NENA was the Tahitian best scorer with 10 goals, but it was their goalkeepers (Teraiatea ROO in particular) who made the difference.  Semedo marked 10 for Cabo Verde as well. This was a first ever victory  of an Oceania team in the InterContiental Phase of the IHF Trophy.  It is interesting to mention, that in Pacific tradition the team from Tahiti starts their matches with their version of the Haka dance.  The dance is typical for the Polynesian Islands and derives from chants common to a tribe and illustrates a myth or legends of that community of people or island. It depicts ones preparation for war, on the sports field it is a big friendly gestures as it demonstrates warriors and a big respect for the opponent.

The second match of the day was in the women’s Competition and it was very ones-sided as Guadeloupe dominated it from top to bottom. It was a real fiery baptism in the Competition for the girls from Oceania. It took around 10 minutes for New Zealand to score the first goal, but they had to admit they are facing a much stronger opponent. It is worth mentioning that the Guadeloupe goalkeepers were the only one who did not managed to get their names on the scoresheet while all the other players scored at least one. Madeleine HAZELTON scored 4 goals for New Zealand. Final result: 49:11 (24:4)

In the last match of the Competition the spectators in Gabrovo had a chance to meet the team from the Faroe Islands, as they played their first match in the Competition. And they did it in some style. After an opening which could not see any side taking significant advantage, the European team took control of the game in the second part of the first half taking comfortable 18:13 lead in the dressing room on half time. In the second half, they continued where they left off and were only increasing their lead until the end of the game. It was the first match and first victory for the favorites in the competition. Final result: 32:20 (18:13). Helgi Hoydal was the best player of the match scoring 12 goals for the Faroes, while just as yesterday, Sebastian Lamirault was leading Colombia with 11 goals.

In the final match of the day, host Bulgaria had a chance to rehabilitate from the painful defeat from Guadeloupe yesterday. Their opponents – Senegal. The host wanted to prove that yesterday was a bad day only and since the very beginning showed huge presence in the game. They made a significant difference early, and only increased it to lead 19:10 on half time. In the second half, they took their foot of the gas a little and Senegal started playing better defense, but Bulgaria could still manage to increase the lead and win the game with final 35:23. It was the first win in the competition for the organizer in their second game. Bogovetsa Yosifova scored 8 for Bulgaria while Mane Aissatou was just as good for Senegal on the other side.

After two days, Guadeloupe is on top of the women’s competition with two clear victories followed by the host and Uzbekistan who have a game in hand, while the men’s competition proves to be very exciting as 4 out of 5 teams have 2 points each after two match days.