Athens Games bronze medalist Russia upset African champion Egypt 28-27 in a breathtaking game at the Beijing Olympic men's handball event here on Tuesday.
The upsurge of the game came with 15 seconds to go at the clock, when the two teams tied 27-27. The Egyptian side illegally intercepted the opponent's attack. And the two referees awarded Russia a freekick after a short period of dispute. Russian left back Alexey Rastvortsev broke through Egypt's defence in the limited time and net in the decisive winner.
"There should always be someone from the team to stand up and take the responsibility. This time it was me, and luckily, I made it," said Rastvortsev after the match.
"The Egyptian team was well-prepared for today's match. They changed their defending tactics several times during the game, which posed us great trouble. They are a disciplined team," said Vladimir Maksimov, coach of Russia in a post-match media conference.
It was a rough and close game with both teams neck and neck throughout the match. Ahmed El Ahmar of Egypt topped the scoring list with ten goals, while Rastvortsev's eight goals brought the victory to Russia.
It was the second time that Egypt suffered a last-second setback. In their first game against Denmark, Lars Christiansen scored in the last moment with an own goal.
The Egypt side were so disappointed that they fled the mixed zone and did not attend the post-match media conference.
(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2008)