South Korea wins the bronze at the Beijing Olympics women's handball on Saturday by defeating Hungary 33-28. [Xinhua]

Hungarian coach Janos Hajdu attributed the defeat to continuous penalty suspensions of Hungarian players in the last seven minutes. "The South Korean team is very strong. They deserve the bronze," said Hajdu.

The match was tied six times in the first half. Hungary gained an upper hand in the last seven minutes with more fierce attacks before the net, enjoying a lead of 15-13.

The European traditional powerhouse continued its rush to the medal after the interval, with the highlight on center back Krisztina Pigniczki's successful long-distance throw in the 53rd minute. Anita Gorbicz who scored three times in the first half also proved her potential by making the ball gently bounce into the net at the 45th minute, despite tight defense of South Korea.

With persistence and determination, South Korea staged a strong comeback in the second half, making the competition into a draw 12 times. When Hungarian attacks began to falter seven minutes before the buzzer, right back Hong Jeong-ho's shot broke the tie, sparking a wave of fast breaks from her teammates. The blitz secured South Korea's victory to the very end of the match.

Hungary has won silver at the 2000 Olympics and bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Games. It was muscled out by world champion Russia 22-20 in the semifinal while South Korea failed to make final with Norway's controversial goal at the last moment.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2008)