2003 World Men's Handball Championship

The 2003 World Men's Handball Championship took place in Portugal from 20 January to 2 February 2003. It was the 18th edition of the World Championship in team handball and Croatia won the championship.

Venues

9 cities were hosts for the tournament. The final match took place in the capital Lisbon.

Town	Stadium	max. spectators
Lisbon	Pavilhão Atlântico	15.000
Rio Maior	Pavilhão Polidesportivo	6.500
São João da Madeira	Pavilhão das Travessas	6.000
Guimarães	Pavilhão Multiusos	3.000
Viseu	Viseu Arena	2.600
Funchal	Madeira Tecnopolo	2.500
Caminha	Pavilhão Municipal	2.500
Póvoa de Varzim	Pavilhão Desportivo	2.500
Espinho	Pavilhão Multiusos NW	2.000

Lisbon	Rio Maior	São João da Madeira	Guimarães
Pavilhão Atlântico	Pavilhão Polidesportivo	Pavilhão das Travessas	Pavilhão Multiusos
Capacity: 15,000	Capacity: 6,500	Capacity: 6,000	Capacity: 3,000
File:Web Summit 2018 - Media IMG 5003 (30136570537).jpg	File:Rio Maior.jpg	File:Zona Industrial das Travessas.jpg	File:Multiusos Guimaraes.jpg
Viseu
Viseu Arena
Capacity: 2,600
File:Visecentro.JPG
Funchal	Caminha	Póvoa de Varzim	Espinho
Madeira Tecnopolo	Pavilhão Municipal	Pavilhão Desportivo	Pavilhão Multiusos NW
Capacity: 2,500	Capacity: 2,500	Capacity: 2,500	Capacity: 2,000
File:Universidade da Madeira.jpg	File:Pavilhão Cônego Caminha, Pau dos Ferros (RN).jpg	File:Câmara Municipal da Póvoa de Varzim.jpg	File:Espinho Pavilhão Multiusos NW.jpg

Qualification

Competition	Dates	Vacancies	Qualified
Host nation		1	Template:Hb
2001 World Men's Handball Championship	23 January – 4 February 2001	1	Template:Hb
2002 European Men's Handball Championship	25 January – 3 February 2002	3	Template:Hb Template:Hb Template:Hb
2002 Asian Men's Handball Championship	10–19 February 2002	3	Template:Hb Template:Hb Template:Hb
2002 African Men's Handball Championship	19–28 April 2002	4	Template:Hb Template:Hb Template:Hb Template:Hb
2002 Oceania Handball Championship	5–7 July 2002	1	Template:Hb
European qualification	8 January – 9 July 2002	8	Template:Hb Template:Hb Template:Hb Template:Hb Template:Hb Template:Hb Template:Hb Template:Hb
2002 Pan American Men's Handball Championship	10–14 July 2002	3	Template:Hb Template:Hb Template:Hb

First round

Group A

20 January 2003 15:30	Template:Hb-rt	29–20	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Attendance: 1,500 Referees:
		(16–10)
		[Report Report]

20 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	24–20	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Referees:
		(12–9)
		[Report Report]

20 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	23–18	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Referees:
		(13–8)
		[Report Report]

---

21 January 2003 15:30	Template:Hb-rt	14–36	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Attendance: 750 Referees:
		(3–20)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

21 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	24–28	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Attendance: 150 Referees:
		(15–14)
		[Report Report]

21 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	25–34	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Referees:
		(16–17)
		[Report Report]

---

23 January 2003 15:30	Template:Hb-rt	22–25	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Referees:
		(9–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

23 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	22–24	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Attendance: 800 Referees:
		(11–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

23 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	22–20	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Attendance: 3,500 Referees:
		(12–9)
		[Report Report]

---

25 January 2003 16:00	Template:Hb-rt	45–18	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Referees:
		(24–8)
		[Report Report]

25 January 2003 18:00	Template:Hb-rt	28–27	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Referees:
		(20–10)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

25 January 2003 20:00	Template:Hb-rt	35–29	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Attendance: 150 Referees:
		(17–12)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

26 January 2003 16:00	Template:Hb-rt	25–33	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Attendance: 900 Referees:
		(13–18)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

26 January 2003 18:00	Template:Hb-rt	34–20	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Referees:
		(17–9)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

26 January 2003 20:00	Template:Hb-rt	21–36	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Guimarães Referees:
		(10–15)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Group B

20 January 2003 12:23	Template:Hb-rt	55–15	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(23–6)
		[Report Report]

20 January 2003 14:15	Template:Hb-rt	40–17	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(23–8)
		[Report Report]

20 January 2003 17:00	Template:Hb-rt	34–19	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(20–8)
		[Report Report]

---

21 January 2003 14:15	Template:Hb-rt	16–46	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(6–24)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

21 January 2003 17:00	Template:Hb-rt	17–30	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(8–16)
		[Report Report]

21 January 2003 19:00	Template:Hb-rt	21–31	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(10–15)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

23 January 2003 14:15	Template:Hb-rt	34–20	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(20–11)
		[Report Report]

23 January 2003 17:00	Template:Hb-rt	23–28	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(10–14)
		[Report Report]

23 January 2003 19:00	Template:Hb-rt	29–28	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(14–13)
		[Report Report]

---

25 January 2003 15:15	Template:Hb-rt	29–37	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(15–19)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

25 January 2003 17:15	Template:Hb-rt	42–22	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(24–9)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

25 January 2003 19:15	Template:Hb-rt	21–26	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(12–12)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

26 January 2003 16:15	Template:Hb-rt	34–29	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(20–16)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

26 January 2003 18:15	Template:Hb-rt	42–20	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(22–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

26 January 2003 20:15	Template:Hb-rt	28–23	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, Viseu Referees:
		(15–8)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Group C

20 January 2003 15:00	Template:Hb-rt	31–30	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(15–14)
		[Report Report]

20 January 2003 17:00	Template:Hb-rt	29–30	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(18–13)
		[Report Report]

20 January 2003 20:00	Template:Hb-rt	30–23	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(14–10)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

21 January 2003 15:00	Template:Hb-rt	26–26	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(11–15)
		[Report Report]

21 January 2003 18:00	Template:Hb-rt	18–25	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(10–8)
		[Report Report]

21 January 2003 20:00	Template:Hb-rt	24–29	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(10–18)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

23 January 2003 15:00	Template:Hb-rt	26–28	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(10–12)
		[Report Report]

23 January 2003 18:00	Template:Hb-rt	36–25	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(22–12)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

23 January 2003 20:00	Template:Hb-rt	35–18	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(14–6)
		[Report Report]

---

25 January 2003 15:00	Template:Hb-rt	23–35	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(15–15)
		[Report Report]

25 January 2003 17:00	Template:Hb-rt	23–22	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(11–10)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

25 January 2003 19:00	Template:Hb-rt	34–17	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(19–8)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

26 January 2003 15:00	Template:Hb-rt	30–29	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(16–13)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

26 January 2003 17:00	Template:Hb-rt	31–30	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(14–14)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

26 January 2003 19:00	Template:Hb-rt	31–15	Template:Hb	Madeira Tecnopolo, Funchal Referees:
		(15–6)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Group D

20 January 2003 15:00	Template:Hb-rt	22–22	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(10–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

20 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	29–23	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(14–13)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

20 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	33–24	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(17–10)
		[Report Report]

---

21 January 2003 15:00	Template:Hb-rt	25–25	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(13–13)
		[Report Report]

21 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	29–25	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(14–12)
		[Report Report]

21 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	24–28	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(10–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

23 January 2003 15:00	Template:Hb-rt	26–27	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(14–13)
		[Report Report]

23 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	29–21	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(12–12)
		[Report Report]

23 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	22–19	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(9–13)
		[Report Report]

---

25 January 2003 13:00	Template:Hb-rt	28–32	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(12–17)
		[Report Report]

25 January 2003 18:00	Template:Hb-rt	27–30	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Attendance: 1,200 Referees:
		(10–15)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

25 January 2003 20:00	Template:Hb-rt	35–26	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Attendance: 2,100 Referees:
		(18–12)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

26 January 2003 16:00	Template:Hb-rt	32–28	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(19–14)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

26 January 2003 18:00	Template:Hb-rt	31–24	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(17–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

26 January 2003 19:00	Template:Hb-rt	25–35	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Municipal das Travessas, São João da Madeira Referees:
		(13–16)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Second round

Group I

29 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	33–29	Template:Hb	Caminha Referees:
		(14–17)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

29 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	40–15	Template:Hb	Caminha Referees:
		(20–6)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

30 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	35–26	Template:Hb	Caminha Referees:
		(18–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

30 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	32–31	Template:Hb	Caminha Referees:
		(18–18)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Group II

29 January 2003 14:15	Template:Hb-rt	30–21	Template:Hb	Póvoa de Varzim Referees:
		(14–13)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

29 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	30–28	Template:Hb	Póvoa de Varzim Referees:
		(18–7)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

30 January 2003 14:15	Template:Hb-rt	31–31	Template:Hb	Póvoa de Varzim Attendance: 800 Referees:
		(15–16)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

30 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	27–26	Template:Hb	Póvoa de Varzim Referees:
		(14–12)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Group III

29 January 2003 18:15	Template:Hb-rt	29–23	Template:Hb	Rio Maior Referees:
		(13–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

29 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	28–35	Template:Hb	Rio Maior Referees:
		(16–16)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

30 January 2003 18:15	Template:Hb-rt	29–22	Template:Hb	Rio Maior Referees:
		(12–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

30 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	33–27	Template:Hb	Rio Maior Referees:
		(19–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Group IV

29 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	33–32	Template:Hb	Espinho Referees:
		(17–17)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

29 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	31–22	Template:Hb	Espinho Referees:
		(14–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

30 January 2003 18:30	Template:Hb-rt	24–30	Template:Hb	Espinho Referees:
		(11–15)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

30 January 2003 20:30	Template:Hb-rt	25–28	Template:Hb	Espinho Referees:
		(10–13)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Final round

5–8th place semifinals

1 February 2003 09:30	Template:Hb-rt	33–34 (ET)	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon Referees:
		(12–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]
	FT: 25–25 ET: 2–2, 6–7

---

1 February 2003 12:00	Template:Hb-rt	27–30	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon Referees:
		(12–13)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Semifinals

1 February 2003 15:00	Template:Hb-rt	23–22	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon Referees:
		(11–10)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

---

1 February 2003 17:30	Template:Hb-rt	37–39 (ET)	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon Referees:
		(14–9)
		[{{{report}}} Report]
	FT: 26–26 ET: 5–5, 6–8

7th place game

2 February 2003 11:30	Template:Hb-rt	32–27	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon Referees:
		(16–13)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

5th place game

2 February 2003 09:00	Template:Hb-rt	30–25	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon Attendance: 3,000 Referees:
		(16–11)
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Third place game

2 February 2003 14:30	Template:Hb-rt	22–27	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon Attendance: 7,000 Referees:
	Ortega 7	(11–16)	Narcisse 7
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Final

2 February 2003 17:00	Template:Hb-rt	34–31	Template:Hb	Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon Attendance: 12,000 Referees:
	Džomba 8	(20–18)	Baur 8
		[{{{report}}} Report]

Final standings

Rank	Team
File:Gold medal icon.svg	Template:Hb
File:Silver medal icon.svg	Template:Hb
File:Bronze medal icon.svg	Template:Hb
4	Template:Hb
5	Template:Hb
6	Template:Hb
7	Template:Hb
8	Template:Hb
9	Template:Hb
10	Template:Hb
11	Template:Hb
12	Template:Hb
13	Template:Hb
14	Template:Hb
15	Template:Hb
16	Template:Hb
17	Template:Hb
18	Template:Hb
19	Template:Hb
20	Template:Hb
21	Template:Hb
22	Template:Hb
23	Template:Hb
24	Template:Hb

	Qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics
	Ineligible to qualify for the Olympics: Greenland do not have a National Olympic Committee recognized by the IOC

2003 Men's World Champions Croatia Croatia First title

Awards

MVP: Template:Flagicon Christian Schwarzer

All Star Team

• Goalkeeper: Template:Flagicon Henning Fritz
• Left Wing: Template:Flagicon Eduard Koksharov
• Left Back: Template:Flagicon Carlos Pérez
• Center Back: Template:Flagicon Enric Masip
• Pivot : Template:Flagicon Christian Schwarzer
• Right Back: Template:Flagicon Patrick Cazal
• Right Wing: Template:Flagicon Mirza Džomba

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Team	Goals
1	Carlos Pérez	Template:Hb	64
2	Hussein Zaky	Template:Hb	61
3	Ólafur Stefánsson	Template:Hb	58
4	László Nagy	Template:Hb	51
	Aleksey Rastvortsev	Template:Hb
6	Markus Baur	Template:Hb	50
	Ivan Simonovič	Template:Hb
8	Stefan Kretzschmar	Template:Hb	48
	Florian Kehrmann	Template:Hb
10	Petar Metličić	Template:Hb	46

Top goalkeepers

Rank	Name	Team	Saves	Shots	%
1	Andrey Lavrov	Template:Hb	109	325	33.5
2	Henning Fritz	Template:Hb	99	256	38.7
3	Arpad Sterbik	Template:Hb	97	216	44.9
4	José Javier Hombrados	Template:Hb	94	198	47.5
5	Nándor Fazekas	Template:Hb	88	231	38.1
6	Vlado Šola	Template:Hb	78	196	39.8
7	Dejan Perić	Template:Hb	71	180	39.4
8	Sławomir Szmal	Template:Hb	69	155	44.5
9	Beno Lapajne	Template:Hb	68	188	36.2
10	Kasper Hvidt	Template:Hb	68	206	33.0

Medalists

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Template:Hb	Template:Hb	Template:Hb Template:Unbulleted list

External links

• XVI Men's World Championship at IHF.info