The men's handball tournament got started with six preliminary round matches on Saturday.
Details from each game of the first session are below.
Spain vs. Slovenia
Spain outlasted Slovenia, 25-22, in a thrilling matchup to kick off the men's handball tournament in Paris.
Led by strong play from goalkeeper Gonzalo Perez in net, the Spanish side was able to edge past Slovenia after staying neck-and-neck for much of the 60 minutes. Slovenia held a three-goal lead heading into halftime, but the second half belonged to Spain, which exploded in the final fifteen minutes to finish with a three-goal victory.
Aleix Gómez led Spain in scoring with seven goals on nine attempts. Both teams converted over 50% of their attempts -- 53% for Spain and 54% for Slovenia, but Slovenia was unable to convert any of its fast break points while Spain shot a perfect 7-for-7.
Hungary vs. Egypt
In a tightly contested game between Hungary and Egypt, Egypt emerged victorious, 35-32.
Egypt controlled the first half, leading by as much as eight, but Hungary stormed back in the second half to make it interesting. Hungary’s Richard Bodo capitalized on an empty net by Egypt in the final two minutes to make it a one-goal game. After Yehia Elderaa took a nasty hit in the final 90 seconds, Hungary was forced to play down a man, which helped Egypt secure breathing room with goals by Yahia Omar and Omar Elwakil.
Croatia vs. Japan
Croatia won a thriller in Group A play, scoring with two seconds remaining to defeat Japan, 30-29.
Japan missed a pair of shots with under a minute to play, allowing Croatia a chance to win, which it did with a strike from Ivan Martinovic.
It was a stellar second-half comeback for Croatia. Japan went on a late run in the first half, extending its lead to 18-13 with a final goal before the horn. Led by Kosuke Yasuhira scoring on seven of 10 attempts, Japan converted 72% of its shots on goal in the first 30 minutes.
Croatia tightened its defense in the second frame, however, and managed to take a 25-24 lead with under nine minutes to play.
The back-and-forth match was knotted at 29 when Japan's Hiroki Motoki scored on a penalty shot at the 58:20 mark. Japan had a chance to win it as well, but couldn't covert -- and Croatia did.
Norway vs. Argentina
Norway trailed Argentina, 3-1, early in the match and then stormed to a commanding advantage that it never relinquished.
Tobias Grondahl scored eight goals and Kristian Bjornsen added six to give the Norwegians a 36-31 victory in this Group B matchup.
Norway scored 36 goals on 47 shots for a 77% conversion rate. Argentina was able to cut its deficit to four points late in the second half, but could get no closer.
Germany vs. Sweden
Following a low-scoring opening half, Germany prevailed over Sweden, 30-27, in Group B pool play.
The Germans led, 12-11, at the midway point. And while the goal totals picked up in the second half, Sweden could never take the advantage.
Germany took a three-goal lead with under seven minutes to play and kept Sweden from getting any closer. Renars Uscins led the way for the Germans with eight goals.
Denmark vs. France
In a rematch of the two most recent Olympic gold-medal finals, Denmark got the better of France in opening group play of men's handball.
The Danes defeated the host country, 37-29, in Group B.
France won gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at Denmark's expense, as Denmark did the same to the Germans in Rio 2016.
In this match, Denmark turn a one-point halftime lead into a eight-point rout, thanks to near-flawless performances by Mathias Gidsel and Simon Pytlick. Gidsel converted 11 of 12 shots on goal while Pytlick went 11 for 13.