BiH beats Switzerland in World Men's Handball Championship qualifier

SARAJEVO, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) handball team beat Switzerland 21-15 in the last round of the 2019 World Men's Handball Championship European qualification tournament in Tuzla on Saturday evening.

In the full Mejdan Hall in Tuzla, a city some 120 km northeast of BiH capital Sarajevo, both teams played well tying at 1-1 in the 7th minute after which the host team continued the lead. In the 14th minute, Switzerland head coach Michael Suter calls a time-out after which visiting team scores a goal. The rest of the first half was a splendid show by the host team to take an 11-6 lead before the break.

Both teams played defensively during the beginning of the second half, after which the visiting team scores 2 goals quickly and BiH handball team head coach Bilal Suman called a time-out at 13-10. Switzerland reduced the margin to one point in the second half, but BiH scored several quick goals for the win with the final result of 21-15.

23 teams not playing the European Championship were split into six groups, with six group winners joining 12 European finalists to vie for the nine tickets to the World Championships.

With this victory, BiH entered the qualifiers for the 2019 World Championships that will be held in Denmark and Germany in January 2019. Enditem