Women’s European Handball Championships with free web streaming

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In case you missed it, the EHF is making every single match of the ongoing Women’s European Championship available for viewing online. And not only is it free, they are even offering it at 1.0 Mbits/second, which allows for a pretty decent picture.

Link to Video Page: http://www.ehf-euro.com/Stream.2860.0.html#:
– Click on Program Overview

Direct Link to Video Player: http://player.cdn.tv1.eu/player/_v_/_s_handball/_x_s-411205637/handball/dates.html
– You can select matches by date, round or nation

Sorry, though for Handball fans in Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belarus, Serbia and Russia. Due to license restriction, you’ll be limited to the matches on your local TV networks. Hats off to the EHF for providing these games free of charge to the rest of the world. Now, if we could only get them to provide the same web streaming quality for the Champions League matches.

Bundesliga: how to ensure high quality referees

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In ‘handball-world.com’ there was an article on December 3, which was at the same time worrisome and almost amusing. On the surface, it was primarily a statement from the referee chief Peter Rauchfuss in the German Federation (DHB), apropos a pronouncement from the German Bundesliga (HBL) boss Frank Bohman regarding the need for professional referees. http://www.handball-world.com/news-index.php?LID=1&GID=1&auswahl=28751

As I would have expected from Peter Rauchfuss, who is very experienced and always seems to demonstrate common sense, he points out how impossible or undesirable it would be to try to make a sudden switch to professional (= full-time employed) referees. He notes, among other things, that the demands of the refereeing function at the elite level require individuals with strong personal talents and important career experience, ideally with some managerial competence. Handball in Germany or elsewhere does not have a situation like in the NBA or NHL, where young referees with demonstrated talent can be recruited and built up for a solid long-term career situation, in a setting where the financial circumstances make it realistic to give up on an alternative professional career.

Regrettably, the HBL representatives seem to understand too little about the world of refereeing to help carry on a constructive debate. Statements which imply that the Bundesliga referees do not spend more time on refereeing and preparations than the time they spend on the court actually refereeing the HBL games show a totally unrealistic understanding and constitute an insult. But it is also clear from other statements that the issue of professional referees is really a ‘bogus’ issue. What really seems to be at stake is just one more aspect of the battle for power and prestige between HBL and DHB.

What HBL should appreciate is that they enjoy the benefits of strong traditions and a situation where DHB is one of the absolute top organizations in providing high-quality education and management of handball referees. Peter Rauchfuss and many of his colleagues are really first rate. What HBL instead might ask is if they contribute sufficiently to a situation where DHB, in its responsibility for refereeing from the HBL at the top down to the very bottom of the ‘pyramid’ in Germany, really needs solid resources to handle the specialized training and monitoring at the elite level, not just in terms of manpower but also for instance in terms of technology. But this is a very different matter from HBL suddenly wanting to seize control over an area where they do not have any particular expertise.

Not just HBL, DHB and German handball want high-quality refereeing in the Bundesliga. What goes on there is a major issue of propaganda for our sport globally. So, although I speak without knowing exactly what resources Peter Rauchfuss currently has at his disposal and how advanced his operations are in a scientific and technological sense, I am sure that there must be room for improvements. So clearly HBL could and should assume a responsibility for contributing, rather than focusing on power and prestige.

But the training of the existing referees is not the only consideration. The Bundesliga has become the strongest league in the world by having the resources, through its clubs, to recruit the very best players and coaches in the world. In a similar way, it would seem natural to reinforce the resources available to DHB and HBL by also utilizing top referees from outside Germany. Surely they are many IHF referee couples within easy reach who could surpass the quality of the bottom half of the group currently used by the HBL. It would be quite realistic for a dozen such couples to handle one or two games per month in the Bundesliga. Moreover, this would be logical, in the sense that the exodus of players from many countries to HBL has lowered the quality of the national leagues in those countries, to the point that it is detrimental to a number of top IHF/EHF referees who do not get enough real top quality matches in their own countries.

Once Brothers: A basketball documentary worth watching for handball fans

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Recently, I had the opportunity to watch an outstanding documentary titled “Once Brothers”. Part of ESPN’s awarding winning 30 for 30 series, this documentary chronicles the friendship (and it’s breakup) of Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic. Divac, a Serbian (and now the President of the Serbian Olympic Committee) and Petrovic, a Croatian were teammates and friends on Yugoslavia’s national team. At the 1990 World Championships, despite rising tensions in Yugoslavia, they were able to win the Gold medal. The celebration, however, was marred and a friendship was broken, when Divac pulled a Croatian flag from one of the celebrating fans. I won’t rehash the whole documentary, which is told mostly through Divac’s eyes, but I’m pretty confident that most of you will find it a moving story, regardless of your nationality and connection to the former Yugoslavia.

Watching the documentary also reminded me of the first time I came to the realization that the Yugoslavian Republics had their very own distinct national identities and it was in probably one of the more unlikely places you’d expect: Calabasas High School in the San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles.

In the spring of 1991, word got out that the Croatian State team would be visiting Southern California so a match was scheduled against the local West regional team that would be participating in the upcoming Olympic Sports Festival. In typical U.S. fashion not a whole lot of planning took place and when Ivo Petranovic, then one of Cal Heat’s players (now more known as a referee) mentioned that he could probably get 300-400 Croatians to attend, it was met with a grin and a “Yeah, whatever you say, Ivo.” I’ll never forget rolling into the parking lot a little early to help mark handball lines on the floor only to see the parking lot full and all these people waving strange looking flags with the Purina Cat Chow symbol.

The West regional team was hopelessly outclassed, but it was fun to see a match played in from front of a passionate crowd. Now that may not seem like a big crowd to you, but I would bet it’s one of the most highly attended matches (outside of the Olympics) in U.S. history. And now having seen the “Once Brothers” documentary it’s even clearer to me why the outpouring of National pride was so strong on that day nearly 20 years ago.

Once Brothers will be rebroadcast on ESPN this Sunday, 12 December. Set your DVR’s up now.

ESPN: Once Brothers website: http://30for30.espn.com/film/once-brothers.html

There are some short videos from the documentary at this site and I’m sure that there are copies of it available elsewhere on the internet. It also wouldn’t surprise me if a Serbo-Croatian version has been made. As it’s mostly Vlade doing the narrative it wouldn’t have been too hard for him to record another version in that language.

Finally, I would like to know if there were similar stories back in the 1990s with the Yugoslavia National Handball team. Please share your thoughts and insight on our Facebook page or send me an email at john.ryan@teamhandballnews.com

New Zealand Handball with some top flight new recruits

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[img][/img]The world’s best national rugby team (New Zealand) recently met the world’s best national handball team (France) for a cross promotional photo op in Paris. I’m guessing Ritchie McCaw or Dan Carter became the first ever New Zealander to score on Thierry Omeyer.

For Americans wanting a little context, this meet and greet would be roughly the equivalent of the U.S. National Basketball team or the Super Bowl Champions hanging out with French National Team. Oh, to have that kind of publicity opportunity. I’m guessing the folks in Salt Lake can only contemplate such an occurrence at this point in time.

As a side point, it’s interesting to note that France is the only country in the world where there are significant fan segments for both rugby and team handball. Many countries play both, but nowhere else are they anywhere near par in terms of interest. The 2nd place country for these loose criterions is probably Argentina.

French Handball Federation website: When “les experts” meet the “All Blacks”: http://www.ff-handball.org/detail-news/article/quand-les-experts-rencontrent-les-all-blacks.html
ESPN Scrum photos: http://www.espnscrum.com/new-zealand-tour-2010/rugby/image/130408.html?object=104316;page=1

EHF game of the week: Kiel at Barcelona (Live and with English Commentary)

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Last year’s Champions League finalists will meet in a key Group A clash. For once, a so called Group of Death has proven to be an accurate moniker as this group has been ultra competitive from top to bottom through 6 rounds. Kiel is in first place with 10 points (4 wins and 2 draws) while Barca is tied for 3rd with 6 points (2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses). A loss for Barcelona at home could slip them into 4th place and with tough road matches at R-N L and Celje remaining it’s conceivable to start talking about a disastrous failure to advance out of Group Play. Yikes! Usually when teams of this caliber meet in Group Play it’s for pride and a better seed. That’s not the case here. Barca has some serious incentive to win this match.

Fortunately for them, Kiel continues to be plagued by injuries with circle runner Marcus Ahlm being the latest stalwart to be put on the sidelines for an extended period of time. The match is at 5:15 PM (Central European Time), 11:15 AM (U.S. East Coast) on Sunday, 5 December. Barcelona is a 2.5 goal favorite.

ehfTV Live Broadcast: http://www.ehftv.com/ec/cl/men/2010-11/live/high/001251
ehfTV Tape Delay Broadcast: http://www.ehftv.com/ec/cl/men/2010-11/video/001251 (Usually available a few hours after the match)

There is also a tape delayed broadcast on the MHz Network in the U.S. at 4:00 PM (U.S. East Coast), Sunday. For information on how you can watch MHZ see this http://www.mhznetworks.org/mhzworldview/carriage/

Great Britain Women score major victory against Slovakia

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The Great Britain Women’s National Team is currently in Poland taking part in EHF Group Qualification Play for the Women’s 2011 World Championships. Through 3 rounds of play, Great Britain has a 2-0-1 record with wins over Cyprus (39-20) and Slovakia (27-26) as well as a loss against Austria (30-20). The win over Cyprus is no surprise, except perhaps for the margin, but the victory over Slovakia is pretty noteworthy. Slovakia is not part of Europe’s elite, but they have a long tradition of playing the sport. To knock them off a neutral court is clearly a sign of British progress.

Going into the final two rounds of games, it’s even possible that Britain could play Poland in a winner take all match on Sunday to qualify for the next round. Austria will need to lose to both Poland and Slovakia for that scenario to play out. A prospect that is conceivable with Poland hosting the event and Slovakia playing Poland close, losing 28-31.

British Handball: Injury Mars Great Britain Win Over Cyprus: http://fastbreak-handballnews.blogspot.com/2010/12/injury-mars-great-britain-win-over.html
British Handball: Last-Gasp Goal Helps GB Women Beat Slovakia: http://fastbreak-handballnews.blogspot.com/2010/12/last-gasp-goal-helps-gb-women-beat.html
EHF 2011 Women’s World Championship Qualification Page: http://www.eurohandball.com/wch/women/2011/round/3/Qualification+Europe

Citizenship and eligibility in an age of mercenaries

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Handball.mforos and various Spanish sports media have reported about a situation that seems to have the potential for becoming increasingly common. With the steady trend for top players to move from handball countries without financially strong clubs and leagues to a number of countries where lucrative contracts and a comfortable living environment can be obtained, the strong sense of loyalty to one’s nationality seems to be diminished.

If one spends many years in a particular country, chances are that the loyalties can become a bit divided. Moreover, certain countries have much more flexible immigration and naturalization laws than others. Austria is one example, and the impact this had on women’s handball was obvious during extended periods. Players recruited to Hypo, especially from the Balkans, from ex-Soviet Union and from Hungary, soon found themselves in a position where they had met the legal requirement to become Austrian citizens and theoretically eligible for the Austrian national team.

Of course, as a way of maintaining some seriousness and to avoid having players switching national teams too often and too conveniently, the IHF and the EHF have regulations that require a reasonable gap. Players cannot just stop playing for one national team, and shortly thereafter, with a new nationality, show up in another event for another national team. But if players and federations have patience and do some planning, clearly there is still room for such changes. Of course, the reactions in the player’s native country are typically not entirely positive…

The probably best known case of ‘migration’ is that of the Belarus native Siarhei Rutenka. He moved to the club Celje in Slovenia, and soon obtained citizenship in accordance with the laws of that country. He most definitively became a valuable member of the Slovenian national team. But as so often happens these days, he moved on to Spain, in order to play for Barcelona. It did not take long for Spanish handball fans, and perhaps also for the Federation, to start ‘drooling’ about the prospects of having Rutenka switch nationality once again and eventually become eligible for the Spanish national team.

But it appears Rutenka developed other ideas. He obtained his Spanish citizenship, as Spain is another country with very easy requirements, but now it appears that he has become nostalgic to the point of ‘completing the circle’. In other words, he has also acquired a Belarus citizenship and really wants to play for the Belarus team, not for Spain. There is, however, one little twist to this, something that Rutenka might have overlooked after his experience with easy switches. He wants to stay in Barcelona, but there is no recognition of dual citizenship between the two countries, so he may be in danger of losing his Spanish citizenship. This in turn may have implications for his future options in terms of place of residence after his days as a handball players are over.

And now a somewhat similar case is beginning to cause frustration in Hungary. One of this country’s most popular and valuable players is Laszlo Nagy, another member of the Barcelona club team. It seems he has now made it clear to the Hungarian federation that they should not count on him in the future. So he might become the player soon eligible to reinforce the Spanish national team instead.

Time for a True European Handball Super League (Part 1): European capitalists and American socialists

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In this new series of essays, I plan to make the case that it’s time for professional European Handball to dramatically restructure its organization to form a true, European Handball Super League. In short, it’s time to adopt the best features of the American sports model and create a top flight Pan-European league. In part one of this series I won’t go into the detail of what such a league would look like. Instead, I’ll first explore a puzzling dichotomy which suggests that maybe such a dramatic change wouldn’t be as upsetting to the European psyche as many think it would be.

Sometimes you can’t really appreciate how another country does certain things until you’ve lived there a few years. Living in France I learned a few things that surprised me and challenged some notions I had about the superiority of my native country. For instance, I’ll never forget the puzzled looks on the French Hospital staff who couldn’t figure out why we dragged our baby daughter to the Emergency Room in the middle of the night for a high temperature. Silly Americans, don’t you know that you call the doctor and he comes to your apartment for problems like that. Oh, and it costs around 40 Euros. Call me a left wing extremist, but I’m thinking if a few more Tea Party Americans experienced SOS Medecins instead of our wonderful Hospital Emergency Rooms at two o’clock in the morning they’d still be clamoring to repeal the Obama health care plan, but only because it doesn’t go far enough.

Of course, it works the other way as well. The U.S.A didn’t get where it is today, if we didn’t do quite a few things pretty darn well ourselves. And nowhere is this truer than how the U.S. organizes and manages professional sports. Pick any metric you like: attendance, player salaries, TV audiences, etc and without question the American system is overwhelming superior to anything in Europe or the rest of the world for that matter. Professional Soccer is the only sport that approaches American numbers and even then if you compare it to our predominant outdoor sport, American Football, it is still clearly: advantage USA.

I’ve written about this a few times before in a couple of articles on “What’s wrong with European Handball” and periodically in forum discussions that crop up on revamping the Champions League or National Leagues. I’ll have to say I don’t think I’ve won many people over. And with the overwhelming evidence I find it a little frustrating, so I chalk it up to my opening diatribe: If European leagues are what you grew up with you may to have to witness American structures personally before you start to rethink your version of reality.

Still, I find it somewhat bewildering that this “my sports league model is better than yours” argument is all backwards as Europeans should have the American model and vice versa. The reason I say this is that most European nations take great pride in their social programs which include universal health care, generous unemployment compensation and pensions. There’s a price, though, for these European safety nets, as taxes are higher and it’s tougher for an entrepreneur to start a new company. There are fewer rich people, but also fewer folks on the margins of society. Liberte, egalite, fraternite, if you will.

In the U.S. we have fewer social programs and there’s more of a let the strong survive mentality. If you’ve got a great idea or run your company better than your competition, well, then you will profit handsomely. Conversely, if you don’t do things as well, then you could go out of business. This is an over simplification of both models, as entrepreneurs can succeed in Europe and American have a safety net as well. The difference is principally a sliding scale with vary degrees of free market and more socialistic philosophies.

But, when we talk about our different sport structures everything is way out of whack as U.S. Professional leagues have hired Karl Marx as their economics advisor and the Europeans have hired Boss Tweed. In the U.S. we’ve instituted rules that limit how much players can be paid (salary caps), force strong teams to pay cash money to weaker teams (revenue sharing), and help ensure that the best new players join the worst teams (drafts). In Europe, it’s a dog eat dog world with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

The results of these polar opposite structures are stark in their contrast. Nowhere is this more true than the competitiveness of leagues. In Europe, it’s all but preordained which teams have a chance of winning their respective leagues. In Germany, Kiel, Hamburg and Rhein-Neckar Lowen have the biggest budgets and despite some early season success from Berlin they will surely play for the title. In Spain it will be Ciudad Real and Barcelona. In other countries it’s even worse with one horse towns like Montpellier ruling the French league season after season. They were such a big favorite this year that you would have to wager $100 to win $10 if you wanted to bet on them to win the French Championship.

But, the point of this new series won’t be to simply rehash the shortcomings of the European model (Although, undoubtedly they will be highlighted again.) Instead this series will make the case that a modified American model could work in Europe. And not only work well, but work magnificently, dramatically increasing revenue, improving competitive play and perhaps most importantly raising the profile of the sport world-wide. In Part 2 of this series I will outline just how such a league would be structured.

SOS Medecins: http://www.sosmedecins.com/index.htm
THN Commentary (20 Aug 06): What’s Wrong with European Club Handball? (Part 1) The Disparity from Top to Bottom: https://teamhandballnews.com/2006/08/whats-wrong-with-european-club-handball-part-1-the-disparity-from-top-to-bottom/
THN Commentary (5 Dec 06) What’s Wrong with European Club Handball (Part 2): https://teamhandballnews.com/2006/12/whats-wrong-with-european-club-handball-part-2/

Cynicism and unsportsmanlike behavior — how far can it go!?

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When you see this heading, perhaps you will find it to be of some consolation that this time I am not talking about incidents in handball. But what I will comment on involves a mentality that suggests that there is no reason why we would not have similar problems in other forms in our own sport. Perhaps the rules in handball do not lend themselves to quite the same behavior, but I am sure also we have some loopholes.

I should not really keep you in suspense any longer. My story involves football/soccer, and more specifically something that happened in a Champions League match between Ajax Amsterdam and Real Madrid, two of football’s most prestigious clubs, a little over a week ago. First I need to explain that in football, unlike in handball, a warning (a ‘yellow card’) is not necessarily wiped out or meaningless once the game is over. In football, whether under FIFA, UEFA or national federations, there are regulations which mean that if a player accumulates a certain number of yellow cards during a competition (or a segment thereof) , then he will be suspended for a match.

So late in the match I mentioned, there were two key players from Real Madrid who knew that if they received one more yellow card before the match ended, then they would be suspended in the next match. And as their team was leading 4-0 close to the end, and as the next game, the last one in the group play, was essentially meaningless, it would be preferable to be suspended for that meaningless match. If they instead played in that match and received another yellow card, they would be ineligible in the next, much more important game, namely the first round of the subsequent knock-out competition.

So, at their own initiative, or more likely at the instigation of their notoriously selfish and cynical coach, they caused (=forced) the referee to give each of them a yellow card for time-wasting, an absurd action in a game that their team had already won. The Amsterdam spectators and the TV commentators immediately understood what was up, and the players got the nasty reaction that they deserved.

But the saddest part came later. When media started criticizing the players and coach, the reaction was totally cynical. “There was nothing strange about it; this is what many players do all the time”, was one of the responses. The coach naturally denied any involvement but defended his players. “Of course we expect our players to behave in the best interests of the club”, was the comment of another team official.

And even worse: in response to newspaper and web reports, the ‘general public’ started weighing in. And I am talking about people with no particular sympathies for Real Madrid but just regular football fans. Most of the comments involved criticizing the media for “making a big deal about it”. Others saw it as a reaction of envy aimed specifically at Real Madrid. Yet others came up with the wonderful suggestion that “the players should be applauded for drawing their yellow cards through harmless action, instead of doing it by kicking the leg of an opponent”. And then there were some who criticized the referee “for not outsmarting the players and (illegally)refusing to give them the yellow cards that they had to be given under the rules”.

I can have some understanding for cynical and unsportsmanlike reactions expressed in the heat of the battle, at the moment something happens. But to find that ‘sports fans’ calmly, a day or two later, find it normal and appropriate to go out of their way to express such opinions, that tells me that regrettably these ‘sports fans’ have very little sense for what sportsmanship is all about, and it tells me that players and referees in any sport must expect to be treated and judged in that kind of fashion. If they act properly, then they must expect to be considered stupid or soft, but if they commit a ‘professional foul’ or an unsportsmanlike act that benefits the team, then they will be celebrated and considered smart.

EHF game of the week: Flensburg at Zagreb (Live and with English Commentary)

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It’s déjà vu all over again this weekend as Flensburg and Zagreb will play each other again. Last Sunday, Flensburg held serve with a 32-29 win at home. This Sunday they travel to Croatia, where Zagreb will look to even things out with a victory. After this match there will still be 4 rounds left, but a Flensburg victory would all but assure them of at least 2nd place in Group D. A victory by Zagreb, however, would level the two sides on points.

It’s also worth pointing out that as there is a real possibility these two sides may finish the 10 rounds of group phase level on points. Should that happen, the goal differential between the two sides in their head to head games will decide seeding heading into the round of 16. Just something to keep in mind if Zagreb has a 2 goal leading heading into the closing minutes.

The match is at 5:30 PM (Central European Time), 11:30 AM (U.S. East Coast) on Sunday, 28 November. Zagreb is 1.5 goal favorite.

On Demand broadcast at ehfTV: http://www.ehftv.com/ec/cl/men/2010-11/video/001250

There is also a tape delayed broadcast on the MHz Network in the U.S. at 4:00 PM (U.S. East Coast). For information on how you can watch MHZ see this http://www.mhznetworks.org/mhzworldview/carriage/

Asian refereeing — good progress ruined by bad politics

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In recent years, both some individual countries and the Asian federation finally began to realize that they had to change (some) of their old habits to avoid being left behind by the other continents in the area of refereeing. In particular, the traditional favoring of older, ‘over-the-hill’ referee couples in the continental competitions has gradually been outweighed by the IHF’s emphasis on bringing up new, talented referee couples through the IHF’s Global Referee Training Program.

Asia will now send two couples (Iran and UAE) of the new generation to the Men’s World Championship in Sweden next January. At least one other couple (KUW) is at about the same level. A handful of additional couples have shown promise in Junior and Youth World Championships. The only country not really contributing, certainly in relation to the perennial strength of their teams, is Korea. It seems they prefer to send their young talents into coaching instead of refereeing, an attitude that seems somewhat lacking in solidarity.

BUT, some other habits seem harder to change. I do not really want to go back and rehash the situation involving the Olympic qualifying in 2008, more specifically the atrociously biased refereeing in the infamous Korea-Kuwait match, where a Jordanian referee couple managed to set a record with 40 blatant errors in favor of Kuwait and 0 errors in favor of Korea. This couple was permanently barred, an action that I personally remember only too well as being criticized by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as being too soft! But the reality is that, unlike a criminal court, the IHF does not have the jurisdiction to take any other action. The IHF decision and the reaction of the CAS were duly noted by the senior representatives of the Asian Handball Federation who were present at the time.

HOWEVER, when the reports from the Asian Games were beginning to come in a couple of weeks ago, I was not the only one who noted with astonishment that one of these Jordanian referees had been nominated and brought to the Asian Games by the Asian Federation. Presumably this was seen as a good opportunity due to the absence of IHF observers… Not just was this referee present with his new partner; they were also the only couple who consistently received games of major importance. This culminated with the bronze medal game for the men. A disgraceful demonstration by the Asian federation that they do not regret what happened two years ago, and that they do not care about the authority and decisions of the IHF. Perhaps one should even assume that the invitation to the Asian Games in Guangzhou was a way of thanking the Jordanian referee for following instructions two years ago???

Asian Games: Chinese women and Korean men win the Gold medals

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The women’s competition had a really unexpected final outcome, as the highly favored Korean women failed to make it to the final. They lost 28-29 against a surprisingly strong Japanese team in the semi-finals. It seems the Koreans forgot to utilize their strength as a team and tried to win the game through individual plays. In the meantime, the Chinese women had a relatively easy time in defeating Kazakhstan in the other semi-final by the score of 24-18. Perhaps also this result constituted a bit of a surprise, although the Chinese team had played at a consistently strong level throughout the event.

In the final, the Chinese confirmed their impressive form, by pulling away easily in the second half to a clear 31-22 win against Japan, after a narrow lead at half-time. Korea presumably wanted some revenge in the bronze medal game, and they went on to crush Kazakhstan with 38-26, after having started at full speed right from the beginning. It will now remain to be seen if this shocking outcome for Korea, with a third place behind both China and Japan, is just a temporary setback or the beginning of a tougher battle for the top spot in Asia in coming years. At least it may suggest that both China and Japan will have to be reckoned with in the next World Championship.

The men’s final promised to be an interesting fight between Korea and Iran, but also here the Koreans ‘put the foot to the gas pedal’ from the outset. The half-time score was 16-9, and even if Iran scored the first four goals in the second half, Korea knew how to respond. Soon the margin was 30-21, and only towards the very end did the Koreans allow Iran to reduce the margin to the more respectable 32-28. Japan relied on speed and fast-breaks to stay ahead of Saudi Arabia throughout the bronze medal game, with a final result of 27-20.

Finally, for the sake of a narrowing of the gap between East Asia and the Gulf Region in the polarized handball scene in Asia, it is interesting to notice that India showed some progress with a 9th place among the men and an 8th place among the women, after some gradually more respectable results. Thailand came in 7th among the women.