339 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
339 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sport
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othersports
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handball
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3223142
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-----
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# British handball squad making strides in quest for London 2012 Olympic
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success
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## Jesper Holmris, the Danish coach of Britain's female handball team,
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believes that the "British mentality" and fighting spirit is what has
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propelled the fledgling side to another important staging post on their march
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towards the London 2012 Olympics.
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![British handball squad making strides in quest for London 2012 Olympic
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success: A big hand: the Great Britain team celebrate their 25-20 victory
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over a strong Latvian side ][1]
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A big hand: the Great Britain team celebrate their 25-20 victory over a strong
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Latvian side
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By Steve Wilson 3:09PM BST 18 Oct 2008
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[Comments][2]
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The women go in to the final day of their invitational four nations tournament
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in Sheffield today with their destiny in their own hands after a stunning
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25-20 victory over Latvia left them as the only side with a perfect winning
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record.
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The result followed up a comfortable victory over Turkey's inexperienced
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Under-21 team and sets up the final day's competition perfectly.
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Britain face Faroe Islands in what team manager Melanie Chowns, tongue in
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cheek, refers to as their "grudge match", after Britain went from a 30 goals
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defeat to a three goals victory against the Islanders in the space of two
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years.
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The opponents in the competition may not yet be the stellar draws of European
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handball, but with the Faroe team almost exclusively employed in the top
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league of Denmark, the strongest domestic tournament around, and the country
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boasting more dedicated handball arenas that the whole of the UK, such
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victories mean something as British handball continues its preparations for
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Olympic participation in four years time.
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"It was a very intense game today and a better opponent than the first game,"
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said Holmris after Britain, inspired by the tenacious battling of captain Lynn
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McCafferty and the uncompromising defence of Germany-based Lyn Biel, as well
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as the flair and eye for goal of Yvette Frings, proved too strong for the
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Latvians.
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"We are winning because we have a good fighting spirit and organisation in the
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defence.
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"It is the British mentality. The girls, they have a great training discipline
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and are very motivated.
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"Maybe we won today because we wanted to win the game more than the opposition
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did. It was a great achievement. Six months ago we would have lost by 15 goals
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to Latvia."
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When London won the right to host the 2012 Olympics Britain barely had a
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handball team to speak of. A UK Sport grant of £3 million to be spread over
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three years and a lot of hard work and dedication has changed all that, though
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the process has still only just begun.
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"We're preparing for four years, we're not preparing for now," says Chowns.
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"But it's all part of the steps we need to take."
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Drawing on existing talent within the UK system, employing a rigorous Talent
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Identification process, including the Sporting Giants scheme, as well as
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sourcing British nationals competing in established European leagues has seen
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dramatic improvements in the squad and recognition both from UK Sport
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themselves and the international handball community at large.
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A permanent training base in Aarhus, Denmark, allows both the women and the
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men's team to dedicate themselves to the sport in a way unimaginable four
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years ago.
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There is already abundant evidence that the investment of time and money in
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the sport is starting have a positive impact, though there is still a long
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journey to be travelled.
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"The process is more important than the results for us at the moment," says
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Holmris. "But if you never win the energy levels just drop.
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"When you play with passion and an aggressive attitude like the girls did
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today, the coach and spectators forgive a few mistakes.
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"Britain genuinely has a chance to catch up to established nations because of
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this mentality."
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[What are these?][4]
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* Share: [Share][3] [ ][5] [ ][6]
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[Tweet][7]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/handball/3223142/British-
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handball-squad-making-strides-in-quest-for-London-2012-Olympic-success-
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Handball.html
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Telegraph
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## [Handball][8]
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* ### [Sport »][9]
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* ### [Other Sports »][10]
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* ### [London 2012 »][11]
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External Links
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* ### [British Handball Association][12]
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In sport
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[![Olympic Stadium - London 2012 Olympics competition schedule][13]][14]
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### [London 2012 interactive schedule][14]
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[![Sir Chris Hoy - London 2012 Olympics tickets guide][15]][16]
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### [London 2012 tickets Q&A][16]
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[![Sir Steve Redgrave][17]][18]
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### [Olympics email: sign up][18]
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[X][3] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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[What are these?][4]
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Share:
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* [ ][3]
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* [ ][5]
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* [ ][6]
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* [Tweet][7]
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* Advertisement
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![][19]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][20] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][21]
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[![London 2012 Olympics][22]][23]
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Advertisement
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## [THE OLYMPICS BLOG »][24]
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[ ![Simon Hart][25] ][26]
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** [Simon Hart][26] **
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** [Tanni-Grey Thompson][30] **
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* [Paralympic World Cup can help London 2012 be catalyst for success][30]
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Olympic features
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[![London 2012 Olympics: 20 questions with Nicole Cooke][31]][32]
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### [20 Questions][32]
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Team GB road cyclist **Nicole Cooke **talks to Telegraph Sport
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### [Olympics countdown][33]
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[![][34]][33]
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**426 days to go**
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> Theodosius II ordered the destruction of all Greek temples in AD 426. <p>
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### [Send us your view on the Olympics][35]
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sponsored features
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Loading
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Olympic experts and guides
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### [Olympic Columnists][36]
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[**Steven Redgrave**][37]
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> <a href="http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/columnists
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> <a href="http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/jamescracknell/">**James
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> <a href="http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/columnists
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[LONDON 2012 Sport Guides »][40]
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### [Olympics sport-by-sport guide][23]
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* [Archery][41] | [Athletics][42] | [Badminton][43]
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* [Basketball][44] | [Boxing][45] | [Canoe Sprint][46]
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* [Canoe Slalom][47] | [BMX Cycling][48] | [Mountain Bike][49]
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* [Road Cycling][50] | [Track Cycling][51] | [Diving][52]
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* [Equestrianism][53] | [Fencing][54] | [Football][55]
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* [Rhythmic Gymnastics][56] | [Artistic][57] | [Trampoline][58]
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* [Handball][59] | [Hockey][60] | [Judo][61]
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* [Modern Pentathlon][62] | [Rowing][63] | [Sailing][64] | [Shooting][65]
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* [Synchronised Swimming][66] | [Swimming][67]
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* [Table Tennis][68] | [Taekwondo][69] | [Tennis][70]
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* [Triathlon][71] | [Indoor Volleyball][72] | [Beach Volleyball][73]
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* [Water Polo][74] | [Weightlifting][75] | [Wrestling][76]
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