Translation result.
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| Kang Kyung-min / Photo courtesy of the Korea Handball Federation |
[Sports Today reporter Kang Tae-gu] SK Sugar Gliders evened the championship series with a 24-23 victory over Samcheok City Hall on May 2 at Olympic Park Handball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul (Ticketlink Live Arena) in Game 2 of the Shinhan SOL Bank 25-26 Handball H League women’s final.
The win tied the series 1-1 and kept SK on track to chase a third straight overall title after sweeping the regular season.
Samcheok City Hall could not sustain the momentum from Game 1 and watched the series even out.
Kang Kyung-min earned MVP honors with seven goals and nine assists.
SK set the tone early with aggressive drives and quick breaks, jumping out to a 4-2 lead. Samcheok answered through Heo Yu-jin’s penetrations but struggled to finish—one attempt even hit the post—and goalkeeper Park Sae-young’s string of saves stalled SK’s surge. Samcheok later tied it 7-7 on consecutive goals from Lee Yeon-kyung and a fast break by Kim Min-seo.
Samcheok then continued to challenge SK’s stout central defense with bold middle attacks and took a 10-9 lead. SK responded as Kang and Choi Ji-hye used quick passing and cross attacks to unsettle the defense, and a wing score from Kim Ha-kyung restored the lead. The teams traded narrow margins through the remainder of the half, which ended tied 13-13.
The second half opened in Samcheok’s favor. They shut down SK’s attack repeatedly and, with goals from Lee Yeon-kyung followed by Jung Hyun-hee, pushed ahead 17-14. Jung’s two-minute suspension shifted momentum; SK capitalized on the numerical advantage as Kang and Choi scored back-to-back to close the gap to 18-17.
Samcheok regained a three-goal cushion, but SK’s defense came alive in the middle of the half and the tide turned. As Samcheok’s offense cooled, SK strung together scores to cut the deficit to 21-20. With about four minutes left, Kang’s breakaway shot tied the game at 22-22. The match evolved into a tense, back-and-forth duel, and with roughly 20 seconds remaining Kim Ha-kyung’s wing shot found the net to give SK a 24-23 lead, which they defended to the final whistle.
[Sports Today reporter Kang Tae-gu sports@stoo.com]
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