Tokyo, August 07 (QNA) - France held off a spirited fightback from Denmark to claim a 25-23 victory and, with that, a record third Olympic gold medal in the mens handball in Tokyo 2020.
The match was a repeat of the Rio 2016 gold-medal match, but instead of Denmark taking the spoils, it was France that got their hands on the prized Olympic gold medal.
Denmark clawed their way back from a six-point deficit to get within one point and enforcing overtime.
The French built up a four-point cushion in the first half before extending it to six shortly after the break.
But the determined Danes fought their way back, aided by two suspensions against French players, to get within one point.
The match came to a dramatic conclusion, with Denmark forcing a turnover with less than a minute left in the clash. But the Danes fumbled their attack, with France pouncing and landing a final goal to secure the victory.
Denmark's Mikkel Hansen contributed nine goals to his team's total, and in the process, he finished as the tournament's top scorer on 61 goals. He set a new record for most goals scored in men's handball at a single Olympic Games, surpassing the Republic of Korea's YOON Kyung-shin, who scored 58 in Athens in 2004. (QNA)