| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | |
| Dates | 2 December – 14 December |
| Teams | 24 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | |
| Runner-up | |
| Third place | |
| Fourth place | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top scorer(s) | |
| Awards | |
| Best player | |
The 2003 World Women's Handball Championship , the 16th handball world championship for women, was played in Croatia between 2 and 14 December 2003.
France won their first ever title, beating Hungary in the final.
The following nations were qualified:
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 149 | 98 | +51 | 10 | Main Round | |
| 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 150 | 120 | +30 | 8 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 165 | 143 | +22 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 142 | 122 | +20 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 136 | 155 | −19 | 2 | ||
| 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 74 | 178 | −104 | 0 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 153 | 106 | +47 | 10 | Main Round | |
| 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 165 | 113 | +52 | 8 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 165 | 130 | +35 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 126 | 125 | +1 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 119 | 120 | −1 | 2 | ||
| 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 77 | 211 | −134 | 0 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 158 | 116 | +42 | 9 | Main Round | |
| 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 163 | 108 | +55 | 8 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 158 | 123 | +35 | 7 | ||
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 133 | 153 | −20 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 118 | 133 | −15 | 2 | ||
| 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 74 | 171 | −97 | 0 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 171 | 129 | +42 | 8 | Main Round | |
| 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 149 | 141 | +8 | 8 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 144 | 121 | +23 | 7 | ||
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 113 | 119 | −6 | 5 | ||
| 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 135 | 153 | −18 | 2 | ||
| 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 117 | 166 | −49 | 0 |
Top two teams from each group advanced to the Semifinals. The third placed teams from each group competed in the 5th/6th placement match.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 128 | 121 | +7 | 8 | Semifinals | |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 158 | 151 | +7 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 139 | 138 | +1 | 5 | Fifth place game | |
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 129 | 129 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 145 | 158 | −13 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 149 | 151 | −2 | 2 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 154 | 129 | +25 | 7 | Semifinals | |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 132 | 140 | −8 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 142 | 133 | +9 | 7 | Fifth place game | |
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 137 | 149 | −12 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 135 | 140 | −5 | 3 | ||
| 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 134 | 143 | −9 | 2 |
In Zagreb
| Semifinal | Final | |||||
| 13 December - 16:00 | ||||||
| 28 | ||||||
| 14 December - 19:15 | ||||||
| 26 | ||||||
| 32 | ||||||
| 13 December - 19:15 | ||||||
| 29 | ||||||
| 40 | ||||||
| 38 | ||||||
| Bronze Match | ||||||
| 14 December - 16:00 | ||||||
| 29 | ||||||
| 31 | ||||||
| 5th/6th place | ||||
| 1 | 27 | |||
| 2 | 26 | |||
Final ranking
|
All Star Team
|
| Rank | Name | Team | % | Saves | Shots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joanne Dudziak | 47% | 57 | 122 | |
| 2 | Heidi Tjugum | 46% | 66 | 145 | |
| 3 | Cecilie Leganger | 43% | 89 | 207 | |
| Lene Rantala | 21 | 49 | |||
| 5 | Katalin Pálinger | 42% | 141 | 336 | |
| 6 | Tatiana Alizar | 41% | 58 | 141 | |
| 7 | Ildiko Barbu | 40% | 34 | 84 | |
| Irina Sirina | 30 | 75 | |||
| 9 | Luminita Dinu | 39% | 93 | 239 | |
| Valérie Nicolas | 103 | 262 |
| Rank | Name | Team | Goals | Shots | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bojana Radulović | 97 | 170 | 57% | |
| 2 | Olena Tsyhytsia | 66 | 120 | 55% | |
| 3 | Bojana Petrović | 58 | 104 | 56% | |
| 4 | Susana Fraile Celaya | 50 | 116 | 43% | |
| 5 | Zsuzsanna Lovasz | 48 | 68 | 71% | |
| 6 | Montserrat Puche Díaz | 47 | 84 | 56% | |
| 7 | Grit Jurack | 46 | 90 | 51% | |
| 8 | Woo Sun-Hee | 45 | 75 | 60% | |
| 9 | Ausra Fridrikas | 45 | 82 | 55% | |
| 10 | Elodie Mambo | 43 | 86 | 50% |
The total average number of shots and throws taken in the preliminary round was 51.79 with a shot efficacy of 52.46%. [1] The greatest efficacy was acquired by shots at the goal line (70%). Teams won on average 4.58 penalty (7m) throws. [1] The winning teams took on average 3.55 shots more that the defeated teams. [1] Defeated teams were also 17.98% less efficient than the winning ones, not only in goal-scoring but also in number and efficacy of the fast breaks and assists. [1]