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Germany wins to keep Olympic hopes alive

January 31, 2015

Dagur Sigurdsson's side beat Slovenia on Saturday to seal seventh place in the Handball World Championships and squeeze into one of three qualifying tournaments for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

https://p.dw.com/p/1ETt4
Handball WM in Qatar 2015
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Ghement

Germany ended its 2015 World Handball Championship campaign on a high as it beat Slovenia 30-27 in Qatar on Saturday. Uwe Gensheimer was once again the star man for Germany, scoring 13 goals, while at the other end goalkeeper Silvio Heinevetter made several key saves.

After the defeat to Croatia in its last outing Germany coach Sigurdsson had demanded that his team play smarter when fatigue became noticeable. He injected fresh energy into his side by recalling Matthias Musche and Fabian Bohm, and the strategy reaped dividends at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall outside Doha.

Germany leaves Qatar having won six, drawn two and lost to only Croatia in its nine matches. Crucially, the final win means it squeezed into one of three qualifying tournaments for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

France have gone through to Sunday’s final against hosts Qatar after beating defending champions Spain 26-22.

pwh/jh (AP, SID)