Handball: Egypt beat Japan 33-29 | Tokyo Olympics

The Egyptian men’s handball team claimed their second win in three group-stage matches after beating Japan 33-29 on Wednesday to edge closer to a place in the quarters.

Egypt outplayed Japan in the first half, going to the locker room with a comfortable 18-11 lead.

However, they took their foot off the gas pedal in the second period as Japan narrowed the gap, but Egypt survived a late scare to widen the gap again and finish with a four-goal advantage.

Veteran player Ahmed El-Ahmar, who hinted that he would call it a day soon after a glittering career, was Egypt’s best performer with eight goals out of 10 shots. He became the team’s leading scorer in its Olympic history with 78 goals, one ahead of former star Hussein Zaki.

Egypt are now third in Group B with four points, two behind Denmark and Sweden. The top four will advance to the quarter-finals. They next face Sweden on Friday in what could be a battle for second place.

The Pharaohs kicked off their campaign with an impressive 37-31 win over Portugal before slumping to a 32-27 loss to reigning world champions Denmark.

They are eyeing their first-ever Olympic medal.