Denmark defeats Sweden in Olympic handball opener

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Denmark defeats Sweden in Olympic handball opener

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Denmark defeated Sweden 21-18 in their Group B opening handball match at the London Games.

29 July,2012 05:37 am

Three-time Olympic champions Denmark defeated Sweden 21-18 in their Group B opening match at the London Games, boosting the Beijing silver medalists confidence in their quest for gold this time around.The teams were neck-and-neck throughout their first ever meeting at the Olympics until Denmark scored four goals in the final minutes.Denmark will next play South Korea, which defeated Spain 31-27 in the another Group B match on Saturday.South Korea pulled ahead early to 8-3 and ended the first half with a comfortable 16-12 lead.Spain, which won bronze in Beijing, struggled to fend off its opponents fierce attacks led by Eun Hee Ryu, who scored nine goals.In Group A, Brazil edged Croatia 24-23 after scoring four consecutive goals to gain a comfortable lead 10 minutes before the end of the match.In another Group A match, Russia defeated Angola 30-27.The Russians are gold favorites in London. They dominated the game, although the Angolans managed to equalize 23-23 early in the second half. Russia regrouped to wrap up the match with Liudmila Postnova becoming the top scorer with five goals.Later Saturday, defending Olympic champions Norway will open against France in Group B and hosts Britain will play against Montenegro in Group A.