The German women’s handball team will fight for the group victory at the home World Championships after their 24:9 (10:3) win over China against the Netherlands.
Leipzig. Emily Bölk was overjoyed after her World Cup goal premiere, her team-mates celebrated the leap to the top of the standings with their fans: But after the 24:9 (10:3) victory against the overtaxed underdog China, the focus of the German handball team was already on the group showdown at the home World Cup against Vice World Champion Netherlands.
“This is a small final,”said captain Anna Loerper. A few minutes after the final siren in Leipzig, Bölk, too, immediately thought of the explosive duel against his neighbour:”The compulsory victory against China is done at the hotel at the latest. In the derby against Holland we want to secure our group victory,”said Bölk.
With the third victory in the fourth game of the tournament, national coach Michael Biegler’s team can hope for an optimal starting position for the last sixteen with 7:1 points. A further win against the Netherlands on Friday (18.00 hrs/Sport1) against the Netherlands (5:3 points) would secure the selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) first place and would thus meet an allegedly lighter opponent in the knockout round. In the event of a defeat, however, a crash to third place is also possible.
“Victory was as it should have been. We can build on our defensive performance,”DHB Vice President Bob Hanning told SID. The DHB team had last conceded fewer goals in a 1965 World Cup match against Denmark (7:5) at the home World Cup in 1965,”We won the game with a strong defensive,”said Biegler.
The best German thrower against the Chinese women, who were outnumbered in all respects, was exceptional talent Bölk with four goals. This means that the “Wunderkind” has finally reached the tournament. The 19-year-old backroom player, who missed her first two games against Cameroon (28:15) and South Korea (23:18) due to a foot injury, was then visibly satisfied,”I am relieved to have scored my first goals,”said Bölk.
After the early eighth-final draw due to his point win in the thriller against Serbia (22:22) on Tuesday evening, the sixth place in the European Championship against the third of the Asian Championship in front of 3165 spectators left no doubt about his success right from the start. The “Ladies” showed again some weaknesses in the attack, but the defence against a strong goalkeeper Clara Woltering developed to a fortress.
As a result, the DHB team continuously extended its lead and Woltering made its debut. The goalkeeper of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund scored in her 220th goal. The Chinese team’s first goal came in 9-1 (26-26) when the Chinese were outnumbered by a goalkeeper in favour of a fielder. However, Woltering also accomplished her main task brilliantly and defended 10 out of 13 balls in the first 30 minutes. In the end, she was elected as a player of the game.
In view of the clear dominance against a harmless opponent, Biegler changed hands in the first half and was able to save valuable resources 24 hours after the difficult match against Serbia.
The coach of the national team continued to rotate strongly in the second round, replacing Katja Kramarczyk Woltering in the goal. Bayer Leverkusen’s goalkeeper was also hard to overcome by the weak Chinese women.