Olympics-Handball-Norway crush France's to dream take gold in women's final

By America Hernandez

LILLE, France (Reuters) - Norway overcame a hostile home crowd to beat France 29-21 in the women's handball final to win Olympic gold at the Pierre Mauroy stadium on Saturday.

Hosts France had to settle for silver while Denmark earlier took the bronze medal with a 30-25 win over Sweden.

The final was fast-paced from the start, with nearly a goal per minute as the Nordics ended the first half up 15-13, with Norwegian centre backs Stine Bredal Oftedal and Henny Reistad contributing four points each.

That lead grew to 27-20 in the second half but defending champions France surged in energy, with French left back Orlane Kanor and centre back Tamara Horacek combining for nine points overall.

The Tokyo gold medallists ultimately failed to convert enough attempted shots into goals as the clock ran down, however, with Norwegian goalkeeper Katrine Lunde making 12 saves by the time the final whistle blew.

French fans nonetheless united to belt out Edith Piaf's iconic song "Non, je ne regrette rien" to support their defeated team.

(This story has been corrected to add a dropped word in the headline and to say Tamara Horacek, not Tamara Kovacek, in paragraph 4)

(Reporting by America Hernandez; Editing by Alison Williams and Christian Radnedge)