The Slovenian Women's National Handball Team Qualifies for the Olympic Games for the First Time in History
Slovenia's women's handball team secured their spot at the 2024 Olympics by defeating Montenegro with a score of 30-26 in the final match of the qualifying tournament. This achievement marks the first time in history that a Slovenian women's team, across all sports, has qualified for the Olympics, as reported by The Slovenian Times.
During the qualifying tournament in the German city of Neu-Ulm, Slovenia initially lost to Germany with a score of 25-31 on April 11. In their second match on April 13, they defeated Paraguay with a score of 32-14, setting the stage for a decisive match against Montenegro where only a victory would suffice for the Slovenian team, a victory they ultimately achieved.
In a tense match against Montenegro, the leaders of the Slovenian team were captain Ana Gros and Tjaša Stanko, each scoring seven goals. The team's confident performance allowed Slovenia to maintain the lead throughout the game, securing a victorious outcome in the match and overall qualification.
"I'm speechless, overflowing with emotions. I'm so proud of this team. They showed what we are capable of. Since Dragan Adžić became head coach, he has shown us the possibility of success. This possibility has turned out to be very real. We fought until the end, thank you to everyone who believed in us," said team captain Ana Gros after the game.
With the victory over Montenegro, Slovenia's women's handball team joins the men's handball team, which secured an Olympic berth almost a month ago.
"We've made history, you see how happy we all are... Until the 58th minute, we didn't celebrate, but now we can celebrate as much as we want. We're going to Paris together, and that's the most important thing!" said Tjaša Stanko.
Recall that The Gaze reported that the prosecutor of the High Court of Spain has requested a 2.5-year prison sentence for former head of the football federation Luis Rubiales for kissing the female player of Spain's national women's football team, Jenni Hermoso, without consent. Prosecutor Marta Durantes accused Rubiales of sexual violence and coercion for his actions following the kiss, for which he faces one year and 18 months of imprisonment, respectively.