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HANDBALL
Handball has always stayed close to its roots with only European nations claiming Olympic titles as Croatia look to defend the gold they won in Athens, while world champions Germany will be hoping to seize their crown.
Amongst the men, reigning champions Croatia should be amongst the medallists in Beijing while Germany will want to add to the world championships title they won on home soil last year.
Main medal hopes in Handball at the Beijing Olympics:
Men: Croatia, Germany, France
Women: Russia, Norway
Germany beat Poland to win the 2007 title and avenge their group stage defeat by the Poles with a 29-24 win in Cologne’s final.
Croatia were beaten 21-18 by France in the quarter-finals with rising star Nikola Karabatic leading the charge.
NIKOLA KARABATIC
The 24-year-old Frenchman plays for Kiel in the Bundesliga and was voted most valuable player in Germany’s domestic league for the last two years running – he is one to watch in Beijing.
Karabatic helped France win a bronze medal at January’s 2008 European Championships, where he was top scorer and voted the player of the tournament.
Croatia and Germany have been drawn apart in the two separate six-team groups for Beijing where the Croatians can expect a stiff challenge from Pool A rivals Poland and France.
But newly crowned European champions Denmark could be something of a dark horse for an Olympic medal having beaten both Germany and Croatia on the way to the Euro crown.
DENMARK
Having beaten world champions Germany 26-25 in the semi-finals, Denmark then over-powered Croatia, who despite racing into an early lead were well beaten thanks to an outstanding display by Danish keeper Kasper Hvidt which gave the Danes their first major trophy.
RUSSIA AND NORWAY
Among the favourites in the women’s tournament will be Russia and Norway who disputed the world championships final in Paris in December.
The Russians won on that occasion 29-24, but they lost to the same country in the final of the 2006 European Championships.