London welcomes Angola and Tunisia
The medal games were played in Rabat today with rather expected results. Algeria did not manage to perform another miracle. Tunisia dominated the men’s final from the beginning, and after a half-time lead of 12-6, the final result was 23-20 in Tunisia’s favor. This means that Tunisia has qualified directly for the Olympic Games, while Algeria gets the place in a qualification tournament. Most likely this will be in a group hosted by Denmark, as Denmark hardly is going to secure Olympic tickets in the ongoing EURO2012. The bronze medal game was easily won, 29-15, by Egypt against the home team Morocco. This means that the Egyptians will join Tunisia and Algeria in the World Championships in Spain in January 2013.
Angola lived up to the expectations on them, but it was not an easy game. It was tied 12-12 at half-time and the Tunisian women put on an impressive performance with a team that has much less international experience. The final result was 26-24 in Angola’s favor. It was the eighth consecutive African Championship for Angola since 1998! So Angola will yet again appear in the Olympic Games, while Tunisia gets Africa’s place in a qualification tournament. They will face Denmark, Russia and the Dominican Republic in Denmark. Not an easy task… The bronze medals were won by the Democratic Republic of Congo who defeated Algeria 33-24.
The Angolan victory was a cause of celebration also in the Netherlands! As we have previously explained, Angola had already secured a special slot in a qualifying tournament on account of their strong showing in the recent World Championships. As they will no longer need that slot, this place will instead be filled through a ‘chain reaction’. Montenegro will move over to the slot that was reserved for Angola, and the Netherlands did indeed get the opportunity to qualify for London by taking over the original spot of Montenegro. We hope the Dutch will think of an appropriate way to show their gratitude!
The complete rankings were as follows:
MEN: 1. Tunisia, 2. Algeria, 3. Egypt, 4. Morocco, 5. Senegal, 6. Angola, 7. Cameroon, 8. Dem. Rep. of Congo, 9. Congo, 10. Cote d’Ivoire, 11. Gabon, 12. Burkina Faso.
WOMEN: 1. Angola, 2. Tunisia, 3. Dem. Rep. of Congo, 4. Algeria, 5. Cameroon, 6. Congo, 7. Cote d’Ivoire, 8. Senegal, 9. Egypt, 10. Morocco.