South Korea's Kim O-na, left, and Huh Soon-young celebrate as Germany's Nadine Krause, right, looks on during their women's handball prelimininary match at the Beijing Olympics Monday. South Korea won 30-20. / AP-Yonhap

By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

The South Korean women's handball team had little trouble in beating rival Germany 30-20 as it stayed on course for an Olympic medal Monday.

In its second Group B fixture, the Koreans built an early lead and never looked back with Oh Seong-ok and Hong Jeong-ho spearheading the attack.

Goalie Lee Min-hee keyed a stingy defense that prevented Germany from developing offensive flow, with veteran right back Grit Jurack limited to just two points in the first half that ended 12-9.

The German team responded with more urgency in the second half, but the Koreans managed to keep their opponents at bay on the defensive end and converted on their mistakes in the counterattack.

The Koreans' victory comes after a 29-29 draw with reigning world champion Russia in their group-phase opener Saturday.

The South Korean women's team took the gold in the 1988 and 1992 Games and took the sliver in 1996 and 2004.

In other sports, the South Korean men's field hockey team suffered a 3-1 defeat to New Zealand, while the women's basketball team lost 77-72 to Russia.

thkim@koreatimes.co.kr