Sweden booked their place in the men’s handball tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in highly dramatic fashion as the final places were decided in three qualifying tournaments across Europe over the weekend.

With Slovenia already guaranteed of an Olympic slot, Spain took on host nation Sweden in the final game of the tournament in Malmo on Sunday (10 April), knowing that they had to win by a three-goal margin to leapfrog the London 2012 silver medallists into the second qualification place.

The Spaniards led 24-20 with three minutes left and by 25-22 with 15 seconds remaining, but a penalty taken by Niclas Ekberg reduced the Spanish lead to just two goals and sent the packed arena into delirium (see video below). Spain, twice former world champions and triple Olympic bronze medallists, will miss out on the men’s Olympic tournament for the first time since the Montreal 1976 Games. Slovenia beat Iran 33-17 to top the group.

Become a handball expert with our interactive infographic 

 

Rio here we come! Amazing atmosphere in the Arena today! #iplayhandball #iplaysport #handbollslandslaget #oskval

A video posted by Niclas Ekberg (@ekbergniclas18) on Apr 10, 2016 at 12:49pm PDT

In the Olympic qualification tournament in Herning, Denmark, which came to an end on Sunday, six goals from Domagoj Duvnjak and fantastic defence from goalkeeper Ivan Stevanović led London 2012 bronze medallists Croatia – who were roared on by 600 travelling fans – to a 27-21 victory over Norway and a place at the Rio 2016 Games.

The result left the Norwegians waiting on the outcome of the match between Denmark and Bahrain, but their fellow Scandinavians triumphed 26-24 to top the group and eliminate Norway.

In Gdansk, host nation Poland won the qualifying tournament with a 100 per cent record as they beat Tunisia 28-24 in the final match on Sunday. Both sides had already booked their spots in Rio, leaving Macedonia to defeat Chile 30-27 in a match with no bearing on Olympic qualification.

Poland fans celebrate their Olympic qualification (Photo: IHF)

The line-up for the women’s handball tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games was completed last month and the draw will be made on April 29, the day the Rio 2016 test event begins at at the Future Arena in Barra Olympic Park.

Follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.