(Olympics) S. Korea loses to Sweden in women’s handball, falls further from knockout contention

South Korea dropped to Sweden 27-21 for its third straight loss in the women's handball tournament at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, a loss that essentially sealed the fate of the lone Asian team in the competition. South Korea dropped to 1-3 in Group A with one final match against Denmark coming up on Saturday at South Paris Arena 6. There are two groups of six countries, and the top-four nations from each group will advance to the quarterfinals. In order to squeeze into the knockout stage, South Korea must at least hold Denmark to a draw and hope for help from other teams' matches. Denmark finished third at last year's world championships. South Korea never led Sweden and trailed 13-6 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the first half. South Korea cut it to 14-11, before conceding two straight goals in the late seconds. South Korea battled back from a 20-14 deficit to make it a two-goal game, before Sweden pulled away to a six-goal win. Kang Kyung-min led South Korea with five goals. South Korea is coached by the Swedish-born Henrik Signell. Source: Yonhap News Agency