Norway’s women’s handball team, popularly known as håndballjentene (the handball girls), won their opening match in the European Championships that started in Hungary on Sunday. After some recent disappointments for the team that won Olympic gold just two years ago, commentators called the victory “a brilliant beginning.”
Norway beat Romania by a score of 27-19 as play for their “Group B” got underway in Debrecen in Hungary. The championships are taking place in both Hungary and Croatia, but the Norwegians will play all their preliminary matches in Hungary.
Their group includes Norway, Denmark, Romania and Ukraine, with the next match scheduled for Tuesday night against Ukraine. Norway will face Denmark on Thursday night.
The victory over Romania renewed Norway’s confidence after they all but swept their opponents off the floor. Newspaper Aftenposten reported that while nearly everything clicked for Norway, nothing did for Romania. Stine Bredal Oftedal was hailed as Norway’s best player, scoring five goals.
newsinenglish.no staff
