Agency :
France claimed their first Olympic women’s handball title, beating the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team 30-25 in the final at the Tokyo Games on Sunday.
France secured gold following a dramatic, high-paced showdown between the two sides in which they had the upper hand at the break before the Russians pulled level at 16-16.
But then France — cheered on by players from their victorious men’s team in the Yoyogi National Stadium — shifted gear to take a decisive advantage at 20-16 in the 43rd minute of a tight contest in which the lead had not been more than three points until then.
The ROC had won their previous meeting with France by a solitary goal in the group stage here, despite trailing at halftime, but their efforts were in vain in the final.
The victory meant France emulated their male counterparts in bagging the gold medal, marking the first time since Los Angeles 1984 that men’s and women’s handball teams from the same country have triumphed at the Games.
The Soviet Union first managed the feat in 1976 before Yugoslavia nearly four decades ago.
