The Women’s World Handball Championship, taking place in Spain, is nearing its final stages. Romania, present for the 25th time in a row at this top-level women’s handball competition, unfortunately had to leave earlier, missing the qualification for the quarterfinals. The handball players coached by Adrian Vasile managed to rank only 4th in the main group II, behind Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands. To be able to move on, our players would have had to be ranked first or second in the group. In the general rankings of the competition, the Romanian team took the 13th place.
The Romanian national team’s record at the World Cup in Spain included three victories and three defeats. The victories were against Iran, Kazakhstan and Puerto Rico, but the Romanian squad had to admit defeat to Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden, three top teams. Norway is one of the top contenders for the title this year, the Netherlands is the defending world champion, and Sweden is ranked 4th at the Tokyo Olympics. It should be noted, however, that the Dutch did not qualify for the quarterfinals either.
Everyone agrees that the game with the team of the Netherlands, lost in the main group stage, with only a goal difference, was the best played by the Romanian squad in Spain. It was clear that the team had potential, but that many players lacked experience. The absence of Cristina Neagu, one of the best players in the world, mattered a lot. However, she promised to return to the team next year, and the first opportunity to see how the national team behaves with her on board will be in March, in the confrontation with Denmark, in a double round, in European Championship qualifying competition. (MI)
