The Slovenian handball team has won a historic bronze at the world championship in France after defeating Croatia with 31:30 in a match for third place.
And what a way to win! Slovenians had fallen behind by eight goals in the 40th minute (16:24) after a weak first half-time (13:18) and it seemed the match was a done deal.
However, an incredible turn of events followed next. Croats, who had played a challenging semi-final against Norway on Friday, started to lose steam minute by minute while Slovenians fought for a comeback. In dramatic final minutes, Darko Cingesar scored for a tie, 29:29, while the deciding score came from Borut Mačkovšek at the start of the final minute, bringing Slovenia the historic first medal at world championships of any team sport.
The competition’s curtain will drop on Sunday with a final match between France, which is hopeful to win its sixth gold medal, and the Norwegian team, who achieved its greatest feat by making it into the finals. The match starts at 5.30 p.m.
A. V. (MMC); translated by K. Z.
