Japan take on Brazil for women’s title, Croatia versus Korea in the men’s
RIJEKA — It’s time for the gold medal contests in Rijeka as the semifinals were decided with some top class action in the World University Handball Championship.
The first women’s semifinal match was between Japan and Republic of Korea. It was a close one, but in the last seven minutes of the first half, Japan began to dominate with goals from Hattori Saki and Tani Haruka. Hattori Saki eventually finished with 10 goals to her name, and took her team into the final. The final score was 28:21.
“The Korean team wasn’t as good as before in this game and that was our chance to win,” said the coach of team Japan later. “We turned their mistakes into our advantage and that made the difference.”
Japan will take on Brazil in the gold medal match. It was a tale of two halftimes in the semifinal between Poland and Brazil – with the first half completely dominated by Poland, and the second one by Brazil. Brazil turned their 12:17 deficit into a final score of 29:17, finding their strength when it mattered most.
In the men’s competition, hosts Croatia have had a few close games but have done just enough to reach the final. Along with the women from Brazil, they are maybe the greatest surprise at the WUC Handball 2018. They beat Japan in the semifinal and will take on Republic of Korea in the final.
Watch the men’s and women’s medal matches live right here!
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