The Olympic Games are an opportunity to thrill to our favorite sports, but also to discover new passions by exploring other disciplines. Among the team sports scheduled for the Paris 2024 Olympics is Handball. This ball sport promises to be a real eye-catcher, thanks to its technical nature and the spectacular performances of its athletes. Want to find out more about this sport? We'll tell you everything you need to know about it: its history, its rules and how the events are run. Here's what you need to know about handball.
Let's start at the beginning: thehistory of handball. The origins of the modern seven-player Scandinavian sport date back to the 19th century, and are generally attributed to Denmark. However,Germany is also considered to be the discipline's second mother country, with the creation of eleven-a-side handball by Carl Schelenz of the German Normal School of Physical Education in Leipzig.
Today, handball is generally played indoors in gymnasiums, but it can also be played outdoors. In fact, eleven-a-side handball was originally played on grass, and there's even a four-player version on sand: beach handball.
Eleven-a-side handball was first introduced at the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany. It was gradually abandoned in favor of 7-a-side handball, which was included in the Olympic Games program in 1972 for men's events and in 1976 for women's events.
Modern handball is played on a rectangular 40x20-meter pitch divided in two. Each team consists of 7 players, including a goalkeeper. The classic team breakdown generally comprises two wingers, two full-backs, a center-half and a pivot. Each match is played in two 30-minute periods separated by a half-time interval.
The aim is to get the ball into the opponent's goal and score more points than the opposition before the time runs out. Players can only handle the ball with their hands, and the player in possession of the ball can dribble forward or pass to team-mates. He may only take three steps without dribbling, and may not hold the ball still for more than three seconds.
As a result, this is a sport where attacking play is particularly encouraged, especially with recent rules allowing, for example, the goalkeeper to be replaced by an attacking player. On the other hand, to score a goal, players must shoot outside the goalkeeper's zone, which is delimited by a semicircle with a 6-meter radius. This gives rise to powerful shots, often in full jump, and spectacular precision, especially when the sport is played at a high level. So many reasons to follow this sport at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games!
For the Paris Olympic Games, the Handball tournament matches take place from July 25 to August 11, 2024. 12 women's teams and 12 men's teams will compete in these events. The preliminary stages will take place at the Arena Paris Sud 6, near Porte de Versailles in the 15th arrondissement of the capital.
The finals will take place in the north of France, on the territory of the Métropole Européenne de Lille in Villeneuve d'Ascq, at the Stade Pierre Mauroy.
European nations stand out in handball, dominating the sport's Olympic prize list. South Korea is the only exception to the rule, with two victories in the women's tournament, one in Seoul in 1988, the second in Barcelona in 1992.
Among the nations particularly feared for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are France, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland on the men's side. As for the women's tournament, Norway, France and Denmark are among the favourites.
