Austria claim gold medal at W17 Championship after defeating hosts Türkiye
In a rematch from group play where Austria defeated the hosts by the narrowest of margins (27:26), the Turkish players were determined to change the outcome and write history. However, the Austrians once again proved to be too much to handle and gave the hosts their second loss in the competition.
In the bronze medal match, Finland met their former group member Poland, and whereas the first encounter was a 24:24 draw, the Finns squeezed a narrow victory over their rival to secure the bronze medal.
- Türkiye advanced to the final by beating Finland in a seven-metre shootout, winning 6:5 after ending regulation tied at 20:20; Austria progressed to the final in less dramatic fashion, defeating Poland 33:29 (19:16)
- Türkiye were up 2:1, but Viktoria Polanszky scored the next four out of five goals to give her team a 6:2 advantage. Türkiye managed to cut the gap to two at 7:5, but that was the closest they could get to the Austrians.
- The gap reached eight at one point (14:6), yet the gap was narrowed to five (18:13) by halftime
- The Turks were on the edge of a comeback, pulling to within a goal at 21:20 near the 42nd-minute mark. However, they were unable to equalize, and the 30:28 scoreline near the 50th minute was the last time the margin was so close.
- Viktoria Polanszky scored nine goals to pace the winning team, while Buket Seven scored seven to lead Türkiye.
- Finland scored five of the first six goals to take a 5:1 lead and had a 9:4 lead 11 minutes into the match. Nevertheless, Poland managed to chip away at the advantage and cut the deficit to one on two occasions before going into halftime with a 12:14 scoreline.
- Finland bolstered their advantage yet again, pushing it to five near the 43rd minute, but Poland fought back, narrowing the lead once again before finally equalizing and taking the lead with a goal from Zofia Skomra in the 53rd minute (25:24)
- But it was Finland who got the last laugh as Elsa Keinänen scored the winning goal seconds before the end of the match
- Zofia Skomra led all scorers with seven goals; Corrine von Knorring led the Finns with six
W17 EHF Championship All-Star Team (Türkiye)
Defender: Corrine Von Knorring (FIN)
Goalkeeper: Hiranur Özturk (TUR)
Left wing: Alessia Zizzo (ITA)
Left back: Emilia Siggberg (FIN)
Centre back: Natalia Gardian (POL)
Pivot: Aurelie Egbaimo (AUT)
Right back: Lorena Baljak (AUT)
Right wing: Philomena Egger (AUT)
MVP: Buket Seven (TUR)
Topscorer: Eliza Bilkste (LAT)
