Brazilian left back Aline Santos' birthday mood was totally ruined after her team conceded a "win or go home" preliminary game 22-25 to Olympic debutant Sweden at Beijing Olympic women's handball event on Sunday.
"I am very disappointed. We lost the chance to reach the quarterfinal, it was not a lucky day for me," said the 1.95-meter Santos, who is supposed to celebrate her 27th birthday today.
Santos netted four goals for Brazil, but the seventh placer at Athens Games failed to match Sweden's strength. Athough managed to prevent the opponent from scoring a single point in the first six minutes of the game, Brazli's solid defence started to crack after Johanna Ahlm shot in the opener seven minutes into the game.
Ahlm earned six points before the break to bring Sweden a 14-11 lead, and left wing Matilda Boson added four in the second half to retain the advantage.
"I am very proud of these girls. It is our first time to compete in Olympic Games and they made history. We fulfilled our target to enter the quarterfinals, which means we still have three games to play next week,"said Swedish coach Ulf Schefvert in a post-match conference.
As an Olympic debutant, Sweden snatched two victories on their way to quarterfinals, including upsetting Germany, the third placer in 2007 World Championship, 27-26 in a nip and tuck clash.
Finishing fourth in Group B, Sweden will meet the top team from the other group in the quarterfinals.
(Xinhua News Agency August 17,2008)