South Korea crush Brazil in handball

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Sydney: South Korea moved a step closer to their fifth consecutive women's Olympic handball final on Thursday by crushing newcomers Brazil 35-24 in the quarter-final.

Hungary joined them in the last four after coming back from the brink of defeat to beat Austria 28-27 in a thrilling clash decided in extra time. Defending champions Denmark were due to face France later for the right to play South Korea while world and European champions Norway were set to take on Romania.

South Korea, Olympic champions on home soil in 1988 and in Barcelona in 1992, made their presence felt early in their match against the South Americans.

Brazilian wing Valeria Oliveira needed an ice-pack applied to her throat after a clash with Oh Seong-Ok and goalkeeper Chana Masson was grounded after taking a shot from Kim Hyang-Ki full in the face.

The South Koreans raced into an early 8-2 lead and were seldom threatened by a side making their Olympic debut in Sydney. They led 19-12 at halftime and outscored their opponents by 16-12 in the second half.

In contrast, the all-European clash went to the wire.

The Hungarians trailed 25-24 with seconds remaining and substituted their goalkeeper with an outfield player in a desperate attempt to claw their way back into the match.

The tactic worked and left-handed back Bojana Radulovic crashed home their equaliser with four seconds remaining on the clock.

Hungary twice took a one-goal lead in extra time only for the Austrians to equalise.

But Austria, ranked number three in the world, had winger Svetlana Antic sent off and Hungary won the tie courtesy of a late seven-metre penalty from back Agnes Farkas.



(c) Reuters Limited.