So to start off with the sport of handball is one of the less well known of the olympics, but also one of the more exciting. It's a game of teams of seven that can be dated back centuries in different formats and has been an olympic event since the 1936 Berlin games. It is also one of my own favourite sports and there will be updates about in on this blog.
In the 2000 Sydney games it was voted the most exciting sport and many people watched as the newly formed Australian team entered the competition. Because of the success of the sport in later olympic games it was decided that when London was awarded the 2012 olympics that there should be GB teams in both the mens and womens competition. At first the teams were funded by the government, but sadly lost funding later on, but luckily Visa stepped in and saved the day so that the teams could compete in the olympics. At first there was a severe lack of players and players from other sports were invited to training camps. Now after a couple of years of work there are actually British players to be found in some of the worlds toughest leagues.
So what hopes can these first time olympic teams have? Well my hope is that team GB at least might be able to not finish in last place and hopefully win a couple of games,, but they will be far from medal positions. If the sport catches on we might see teams that in future competitions will give the bigger handball nations a run for their money. My favourites to win the London 2012 games are Croatia for the mens, and Norway for the womens competition.
I wish the GB teams the best of luck with their Olympic debut and hope to see them again in future competitions :)
To learn more about handball check out:
http://www.ihf.info/
For more info on handball in the UK:
http://www.britishhandball.com
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