Germany’s handball players are getting closer to the Olympic quarter-finals. The convincing victory against Slovenia gives them confidence for the mammoth task against Denmark. Locker room DJ Eckerle has to deliver again.
When the hall DJ blasted a carnival hit through the loudspeakers immediately after the German women’s Olympic victory against Slovenia, co-captain Emily Bölk and her teammates performed an exuberant celebratory dance on the dance floor. After the convincing 41:22 victory, the DHB team was filled with pure relief.
Bölk had a simple explanation for the improvement in performance after two previous defeats. “Dinah Eckerle has great songs that brought a smile to the dressing room. We will keep that. The songs are AI-generated, but they caught our attention. She probably got that from TikTok, some thing that went viral. I don’t know if the lyrics are suitable for young people, but whatever, it helped today,” revealed Bölk, assigning the musical warm-up before the game to the genre “Schlager and Ballermann”.
Quarter-finals are getting closer
The unexpectedly clear success was primarily due to the strong teamwork between the defense and goalkeeper Katharina Filter, as well as an improved utilization of opportunities. In particular, the quartet of Annika Lott, Xenia Smits (both seven goals), Antje Döll and Julia Maidhof (both 6) set off a small German firework display in the offense.
The landslide victory has increased the DHB women’s chances of surviving the preliminary round enormously. The best four teams in each of the two groups of six qualify for the quarter-finals. If Germany, Slovenia and South Korea each finish the preliminary round with a win, the DHB team would win the three-way comparison due to the better goal difference and advance.
In the remaining group matches with World Cup third-place finisher Denmark and European champion Norway, it will be difficult for the German handball players to increase their points tally. But the same applies to South Korea and Slovenia, who are also clear outsiders in their remaining preliminary round matches.
Nevertheless, co-captain Alina Grijseels warned: “We also know that nothing has happened yet. If South Korea or Slovenia score in a game, everything will be back to zero. We can rightly be happy today, but then we will fully focus on Denmark.” Looking ahead to the next game on Thursday, the backcourt player said: “If we perform similarly to today, anything is possible.”
“Olympia is finally fun”
Especially since the mood in the team is great after the longed-for success. After defeats against South Korea and Sweden, the DHB women have arrived in Paris. “The Olympics are finally really fun. That was a real relief. It makes me really proud that we have finally shown what we can do,” said Bölk, who was once again overwhelmed by her emotions in the interview zone.
Admittedly, the Slovenians made it pretty easy for the German handball players. But the selection of national coach Markus Gaugisch gratefully accepted the gifts. In addition to the strong defense, goalkeeper Filter, who showed her best performance of the tournament in the first half, played a decisive role in the comfortable victory. The national coach therefore had nothing to complain about this time: “We did our homework.”
Source: Stern
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