The men's handball tournament continued with six preliminary-round matches on Wednesday.
Details from each game of the session are below.
Group A: Norway vs. Hungary
Norway and Hungary kicked off the men's handball competition on Wednesday.
Norway mounted a comeback to defeat Hungary, 26-25 and Hungary carried a narrow edge into halftime, 13-11.
The Nordic country fought its way back in the second half, though, to outscore Hungary 15-12 and secure the 26-25 victory. Norway shot 62% while Hungary shot 58% throughout.
Norway took advantage of fast breaks and overcame four two-minute suspensions to clinch the win.
Norway now has three wins in the tournament, while Hungary has one win and two losses.
Group A: Croatia vs. Germany
Croatia faced off against Germany in the second men's handball game of the day. Croatia proved to be too much for Germany, winning 31-26 at South Paris Arena.
Germany was down just two goals entering halftime as Croatia had a 15-13 advantage.
But Croatia overpowered the Germans in the second half. Croatia's goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanović delivered an incredible performance, tallying 12 saves throughout the match to help his team secure the victory. Ivan Martinovic scored a team-leading nine goals in the win.
Wednesday's win marked the second for Croatia in the tournament, in addition to one loss. The match was the first loss for the German team in Paris.
Group A: Spain vs. Japan
Spain and Japan displayed their attacking power when the sides squared off on Tuesday, but it was the Europeans who did more to earn a 37-33 win.
Both teams put up more than 45 shots and had high conversion rates (Spain with 65% and Japan with 69%), but the high-scoring match came down to which side was able to stay consistent throughout the match. Spain carried a two-goal lead in both the first and second, doing just enough in each half to secure victory.
The result now puts Spain in a favorable position to advance to the knockout round, while Japan still searches for its first win in the tournament.
Group A: Slovenia vs. Sweden
Slovenia survived Sweden in a hard-fought match that saw two players sent off with red cards as Slovenia marched on to a 29-24 victory.
The Slovenian team started off strong, going up 11-6 early in the first half. However, Sweden's quick response saw the teams enter halftime only one goal apart. The action picked up in the second half: Sweden's Jim Gottfridsson was shown a blue card just six minutes into the half, followed by a red card for Slovenian Blaz Blagotinsek three minutes later. While the teams were close in both total shots and shots saved, Slovenia's response to the ejections gave them the edge as they widened their lead and captured the win.
With the victory, Slovenia sits in third place in group A, tied with Croatia and Spain (four points apiece). Sweden is currently in fifth.
Group B: France vs. Egypt
France scored at the buzzer to earn an emotional tie with Egypt, 26-26.
The host nation, which has won three of the last four Olympic gold medals, avoided going 0-3 in pool play thanks to some herorics from Ludovic Fabregas.
Trailing by one goal and with eight seconds remaining, France returned from a timeout for a final play. They advanced the ball up the court, delivering it to Fabregas just outside the painted area. With the clock nearing zero, Fabregas, falling backwards, managed to turn his tangled body toward the net and fired a game-tying strike.
France celebrated as if it had won; Egypt despaired as if it had lost. Ultimately, it was a tie, which put France at 0-2-1 in Group B and Egypt at 1-1-1.
Group B: Denmark vs. Argentina
Three-time reigning world champion Denmark improved to 3-0 in group play with a 38-27 victory over Argentina, which fell to 0-3.
Right back Mathias Gidsel was brilliant, netting 10 first-half goals for the Danes en route to a perfect 13-for-13 performance. The reigning world MVP and IHF Player of the Year is at 32 goals in the tournament.
Denmark flew out of the gates with a four-goal lead seven minutes in, and extended it to seven. Left back Simon Pytlick delivered the highlight of the match, screaming home a top-corner missile from mid-court to close out the half.
In the second, Argentina pulled within four, but Denmark goalkeeper Emil Nielsen provided brick-wall coverage thereon out, tallying 16 saves on the day to land the plane for the Danes.
Up next, Denmark takes on Hungary (1-0-2), while Argentina faces winless France (0-1-2), the winless defending gold medalist.