Revenge is on the menu for German handball team

REVENGE is top of the agenda for Germany's handball team this summer after agonisingly missing out on gold four years ago.

Top of the German hit list is Olympic champions Croatia who finished top of the pile in Athens after recording a nail-biting 26-24 victory in the 2004 final.

But the Germans have the edge heading into Beijing after they squeezed past Poland 29-24 last year to be crowned world champions in Cologne.

And with Croatia being beaten 21-18 by France in the quarter finals of the same competition the German stock has continued to rocket.

With the duo being drawn apart in the two separate six-team groups everything is set for a possible final showdown.

Victory for the Germans would be their first taste of handball glory since they hosted the sport's inaugural Games in 1936 with runners-up spots coming in Los Angeles in 1984 and 20 years later in Athens.

But looking to disrupt the pair will be Denmark who are the dark horses of the tournament having beating both Germany and Croatia on the road to their European crown.

And murmurs have already begun about the possible player of the tournament, Frenchman Nikola Karabatic who plays his club handball in Germany.

The 24-year-old Kiel star has been voted the league's most valuable player for two years running and is expected to light up the tournament.

STEPHEN BOND