The International Handball Federation (IHF) was founded in July 1946 in Basel, Switzerland. Handball made its Olympic debut at the 1972 Munich Games.
The rules
Handball is a fast-paced game involving two teams of seven players who pass, throw, catch and dribble a small ball with their hands while trying to score goals. The team with the most goals wins the game. A game consists of two 30-minute halves with a 10-minute half-time break.
Knockout tournament
Teams are placed into two pools of six for both men and women. Each team plays the other teams in that pool. The top two teams in each pool proceed to the semi-finals. The remaining teams play classification matches for fifth place and lower. Semi-final winners play for the gold and silver medals. Semi-final losers play for the bronze.
Munich and Montreal
Handball (the indoor version) was first present in the 1972 Munich Games. A competition involving 16 men’s teams was staged with Yugoslavia winning the first Olympic gold medal. A women’s event was then added at Montreal in 1976.