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Field Handball was first introduced in the Olympics as a medal event in 1936. Unlike the current version of the sport which is played indoors, the game was played outdoors on a football field, and hence the name field handball. The sport was officially played in the Olympics only once. In 1952 Field Handball was a demonstration sport. The current version of indoor handball which superseded field handball was introduced into the Olympics in 1972.

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In its Olympic debut in 1936, six nations, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, and the United States, contested to decide the medal winners in a round-robin style tournament. Unlike current handball, where each team play with seven players, field handball was played with 11 players in each team which included a goal keeper.

The team from Germany was extremely strong and went on to win the gold medal by winning all the matches they played. The team from Austria finished second and took the silver medal and Switzerland finished with the bronze medal. The Germans defeated the Austrians in the gold medal decider match by a score of 10 to 6. Hungary finished the event in fourth place, Romania came in fifth, and the United States finished last.

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Related Pages

• Other Discontinued Olympic Sports
• Handball at the Olympics (1972+)
• Field Handball as a demonstration sport (1952)
• More about the sport of field handball