Norway’s highly popular national women’s handball team, known as håndball jentene (“the handball girls”), faced new challenges as the World Championships were getting underway in Denmark this weekend. Norway is considered one of the top contenders for the gold medal but will be put to the test immediately when they meet respected Russia in the very first game.
The Norwegians are reigning European champions and were entering the tournament with high hopes. Even though experts are already talking about gold or silver, Norway’s players have to be wary as there are several teams that could pose a threat to a Norwegian triumph.
One of them is arch-rival and host team Denmark itself, which throughout the tournament will also enjoy the support of a fanatic home crowd.
The opening game against Russia in Fredrikshavn starts at 8pm on Saturday. Other national teams to be faced in Norway’s Group D include those from Spain, Romania, Puerto Rico and Kazakhstan. The world championships run for the next two weeks.
newsinenglish.no staff