The French handball players, vice-champions of Europe 2020, easily beat Japan (20-41) in a preparation match for the Tokyo Games (July 23-August 8), six days before their entry into the Olympic tournament.
Olivier Krumbholz’s players, in search of a first Olympic title, will play a final preparation match against Montenegro on Thursday in Tokyo at 7:30 p.m. local (12:30 p.m. French), in the Yoyogi Stadium, host site for the Olympic handball tournaments. The teammates of Coralie Lassource, who replaces captain Siraba Dembele victim of an Achilles tendon rupture in mid-April, will launch their Olympic adventure on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. local (2:30 p.m. French) against Hungary.
The French have experienced a preparation marked by several small injuries, including Estelle Nze Minko, Alexandra Lacrabère and Méline Nocandy. They all played Monday in Koshu, the coach having his fifteen players selected for the Olympics-2020.
Among the 17 players on the trip to Japan, only the two replacements (who will not join the Olympic Village in two days), Océane Sercien-Ugolin and Catherine Gabriel have not played. This preparation match against a modest Japanese team quickly turned to the demonstration of the Blue, who took control from the ninth minute and were able to perfect their automatisms. On the right-back position, left-handed Laura Flippes and Alexandra Lacrabère alternated, with some convincing passages from right-hander Estelle Nze Minko at the end of the game.
The match against Montenegro by Djurdjina Jaukovic and Majda Mehmedovic, who eliminated Romania in the race for Olympic qualification in mid-March, will provide a clearer picture for the French women. European Champions 2018, World Champions 2017, they are aiming for a first gold medal at the Games, the only title that has yet to escape their charts. They will first have to take one of the first four places to extricate themselves from a hen raised with Hungary, Spain, Sweden, Russia and Brazil.
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