London 2012: France routs Britain in handball opener

London: Britain’s men’s handball team may be competing at the London Olympics, it is not yet competitive. Defending champion France defeated Britain 44-15 in the men’s Group A opening match on Sunday, dashing the host’s hopes for a decent performance in a sport that lacks the popularity and profile of football and rugby in Britain. The British men’s and women’s squads were only formed in 2006, a year after Britain was awarded the Olympics. Both teams qualified automatically for the tournament. While the British team made a huge effort — and received a standing ovation from the home crowd — it was no match for the sport’s powerhouse and gold medal favorite, France. Earlier, Ivan Cupic scored eight goals to help two-time Olympic champion Croatia beat South Korea 31-21 in men’s competition. [caption id=“attachment_395971” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  France’s centreback Daniel Narcisse (2ndR) highfive with teammates as he celebrates their victory over Great Britain. AFP[/caption] Croatia led 14-8 at the half after scoring five goals in the last seven minutes of the Group B match. The South Koreans tried to match Croatia’s attacking power, but could not close the gap despite a late five-goal rally. The Croats are one of the favorites in London. They won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games and the 2004 Athens Games, and then finished fourth in Beijing. They will next play Serbia, which lost to Spain 26-21 in the other Group B match. Serbia was up 14-10 after the first half and was still leading 20-18 just 10 minutes before the end of the match, when Spain rallied with six consecutive goals. Earlier, surprise Beijing silver medalist Iceland beat Argentina 31-25 in the Group A opener. During its first Olympic appearance, Argentina trailed Iceland closely and narrowed its lead to 15-14 at half time, but could not keep pace after the break. Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson scored nine goals for Iceland; Diego Esteban Simonet’s had five for Argentina. In another Group A match, Sweden got its first Olympic campaign in 12 years off to a good start by defeating Tunisia 28-21. The Tunisians were in control of the game early, until Sweden’s five consecutive goals shattered their confidence. Sweden pulled ahead 18-10 early and won the match with Dalibor Doder top scorer with eight goals. In the third Group B match Sunday, European champion Denmark defeated Hungary 27-25. AP