Handball thread
 

Based on the response in Edmunds' thread, seems like there's some interest for the sport.

Favourites: men's class is wide open - anyone of Croatia, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Poland and Romania could win. On the women's side it's basically Russia and Norway.

Format at the games is two groups of six with four going through to knock-outs, so the group stage is basically meaningless as the non-European sides should be eliminated. Hopefully Egypt and Korea can put up a fight. What's good about the format is plenty of rest for the best players, in most other major national tournaments they're knackered by the end as they're expected to play a game a day.

European Handball = Gun, I am playing it fpr sport at school atm too.

Handball is such a gun sport. Wish we played it here.

Handball looks fun, gonna try and catch some. Disappointed at the lack of a Swedish team, will probably back Denmark now.

Think both the Swedish women and the Danish men are in the Olympics for their first time in ages, while the Swedish men and Danish women are out for the first time in similar ages.

Today's results - women

France - Angola 32-21
Romania - Kazakhstan 31-19
Germany - Brazil 24-22 (Brazil lost one period by 7 goals)

Hungary - Sweden 30-24
Russia - South Korea 29-29
Norway - China 30-23

Men's results

Spain - Croatia 29-31 - star Ivano Balić injured
Poland - China 33-19
France - Brazil 34-26

Russia - Iceland 31-33 - Ísland!
Germany - Korea 27-22 - was 10-13 at half time
Denmark - Egypt 23-23

Group A looks settled as the weak non-European teams won't make the quarters, but group B could be very interesting.

Day of upsets today. Iceland beat Germany 33-29, Korea beat Denmark 31-30. Spain came back to beat Poland by the odd goal, and Russia struggled to a one-goal win over Egypt.

Sat down and watched hand ball seriously for the 1st time last night.

What a quality game!! Top stuff to watch IMO. Loved that Danish bloke they call "The Tank" or something - apparently he dropped about 10 kgs and stopped smoking for the Olympics. Great stuff.

Can someone who knows the rules tell me, do you have to bounce the ball as you move up court, and if so how often? Also, can you shoot from anywhere or do you have to be within a certain range?

Joachim Boldsen, I assume?
http://www.aabsport.dk/C8DB9E61-3DBA...A-4F9B91AC8D3D

Smokes and drinks like a chain, rumour has it. Don't understand why the Danes use him in defence. Gun arm tho.

That'd be me then...

Rules:
you can take three steps with the ball in your hand(s). When you put your foot down for the fourth step the ball must have been released
you can not bounce the ball after having held it with both hands (double dribble rule)
you can not hold the ball in your hands for more than three seconds
the blue area - 6 metres from the goal is forbidden territory for all players except the goalkeeper. Hence the wall of defenders at 6 metres.

You chose to watch a good game btw, that Denmark v Russia game was special. Complete with last-second free throw. Those sorts of shots barely go in (Russia put an amateurish wall up and the Dane had an arrow of a throw)

That's him.

Cheers for the rules stuff mate.

Croatia playing Denmark in the quarter-final just now. Croat keeper playing superb, 5-1 up after nine minutes.

Iceland knocked out Poland in the other quarter :)

Hungary - Brazil women's match has been the highlight of the Games for mine. When the Hungarian did an underarm leg spinner around the goalie, pretty much fell in love.

EDIT: was quite the rig, too.

Also, loving the chance to win a notebook signed by Libby Trickett and Eamon Sullivan, in the advertising box here. Do they just sign their name in MS Word? Or in whiteout on the outside of the laptop?

Norway 14 Korea 15 at half time. TV shows repeats of Swiss medallists, need admin permissions to watch on Internet, Norwegian radio blocked abroad. This isn't on Aussie channels by any chance? :dry:

Actually, it is on SBS (y)