The Egyptian Olympic handball team lost its quest for the fifth bronze medal for Egypt today, Saturday, after being defeated by the Spanish team. As a result, they missed the chance to secure the first medal for an Arab or African team in handball at the Olympic Games. The Egyptian handball team, led by Spanish coach Roberto García Parrondo, faced Spain in the bronze medal match at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with a final score of 33-31.
The first half ended with Spain leading 19-16. The Egyptian handball team had already dashed their hopes for gold by losing in the semi-finals to France with a score of 27-23 last Thursday. This loss marked a bitter farewell for the outstanding Egyptian team during the tournament, reflected by the faces of the players at the end of the match.
The two teams had previously faced each other twice at the Olympics—once in the 1992 Barcelona Games, where Spain won 23-18, and again in the 1996 Atlanta Games, where Spain repeated its victory, albeit by a single goal, with a score of 20-19. In preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Games, the teams met in a friendly match that also ended in a win for Spain, who won 30-29.
