# Handball at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's qualification

The qualification for the 2016 Women's Olympic Handball Tournament was held from December 2014 to March 2016. Twelve teams qualified, the hosts, the World champion, four continental champions and six teams from the World Olympic qualification tournaments respectively.

## Qualification summary

| Mean of qualification | Date | Host | Vacancies | Qualified |
| Host nation | 2 October 2009 | Copenhagen | 1 | Brazil |
| 2014 European Championship | 7–21 December 2014 | Zagreb Budapest | 1 | Spain |
| 2015 African Qualification Tournament | 19–21 March 2015 | Luanda | 1 | Angola |
| 2015 Pan American Games | 15–24 July 2015 | Toronto | 1 | Argentina |
| 2015 Asian Qualification Tournament | 20–25 October 2015 | Nagoya | 1 | South Korea |
| 2015 World Championship | 5–20 December 2015 | Denmark | 1 | Norway |
| 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournaments | 18–20 March 2016 | Metz | 2 | Netherlands |
| 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournaments | 18–20 March 2016 | Metz | 2 | France |
| 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournaments | 18–20 March 2016 | Aarhus | 2 | Romania |
| 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournaments | 18–20 March 2016 | Aarhus | 2 | Montenegro |
| 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournaments | 18–20 March 2016 | Astrakhan | 2 | Russia |
| 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournaments | 18–20 March 2016 | Astrakhan | 2 | Sweden |
| Total | Total | Total | 12 | |
^ 1. Norway won the European Championship, ensuring its qualification. Norway later also won the 2015 World Championship title, which took precedence in the qualification path. Therefore, the European Championship's runner-up, Spain, received the European continental tournament berth.

## Legend for qualification type

* Qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics
* Qualified for the 2016 World Olympic Qualification Tournaments

## Host country

* Brazil

## World Championship

| Rank | Team |
| | Norway |
| | Netherlands |
| | Romania |
| 4 | Poland |
| 5 | Russia |
| 6 | Denmark |
| 7 | France |
| 8 | Montenegro |
| 9 | Sweden |
| 10 | Brazil |
| 11 | Hungary |
| 12 | Spain |
| 13 | Germany |
| 14 | South Korea |
| 15 | Serbia |
| 16 | Angola |
| 17 | China |
| 18 | Argentina |
| 19 | Japan |
| 20 | Puerto Rico |
| 21 | Tunisia |
| 22 | Kazakhstan |
| 23 | Cuba |
| 24 | DR Congo |

## Continental qualification
### Europe (1st ranking continent)

| Rank | Team |
| | Norway |
| | Spain |
| | Sweden |
| 4 | Montenegro |
| 5 | France |
| 6 | Hungary |
| 7 | Netherlands |
| 8 | Denmark |
| 9 | Romania |
| 10 | Germany |
| 11 | Poland |
| 12 | Slovakia |
| 13 | Croatia |
| 14 | Russia |
| 15 | Serbia |
| 16 | Ukraine |

### America (2nd ranking continent)

| Rank | Team |
| | Brazil |
| | Argentina |
| | Uruguay |
| 4 | Mexico |
| 5 | Cuba |
| 6 | Puerto Rico |
| 7 | Canada |
| 8 | Chile |
* Qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics
* Qualified for the Olympic Qualification Tournament

### Asia (3rd ranking continent)

The competition was held in Nagoya, Japan.
All times are local (UTC+9).
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Korea | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 160 | 82 | +78 | 8 | Advance to final tournament |
| 2 | Japan | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 125 | 94 | +31 | 6 | Advance to qualification tournaments |
| 3 | China | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 106 | 102 | +4 | 4 | |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 103 | 114 | −11 | 2 | |
| 5 | Uzbekistan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 80 | 182 | −102 | 0 | |
| 20 October 2015 17:00 | Kazakhstan | 18−28 | China | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 20 October 2015 17:00 | | (8−13) | | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 20 October 2015 19:00 | Japan | 51−17 | Uzbekistan | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 20 October 2015 19:00 | | (25−10) | | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 21 October 2015 17:00 | South Korea | 35−24 | Kazakhstan | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 21 October 2015 17:00 | | (18−10) | | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 21 October 2015 19:00 | China | 19−29 | Japan | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 21 October 2015 19:00 | | (11−13) | | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 22 October 2015 17:00 | China | 22−34 | South Korea | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 22 October 2015 17:00 | | (8−15) | | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 22 October 2015 19:00 | Uzbekistan | 27−38 | Kazakhstan | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 22 October 2015 19:00 | | (15−18) | | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 24 October 2015 16:00 | Japan | 24−23 | Kazakhstan | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 24 October 2015 16:00 | | (13−11) | | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 24 October 2015 18:00 | Uzbekistan | 15−56 | South Korea | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 24 October 2015 18:00 | | (8−30) | | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 25 October 2015 14:00 | Uzbekistan | 21–37 | China | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 25 October 2015 14:00 | | (6–21) | | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 25 October 2015 16:00 | South Korea | 35–21 | Japan | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |
| 25 October 2015 16:00 | | (17–11) | | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya |

### Africa (4th ranking continent)

The competition was held in Luanda, Angola.
All times are local (UTC+1).
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Angola | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 72 | +28 | 6 | Advance to final tournament |
| 2 | Tunisia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 74 | 66 | +8 | 4 | Advance to qualification tournaments |
| 3 | Senegal | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 85 | −20 | 2 | |
| 4 | DR Congo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 71 | 87 | −16 | 0 | |
| 19 March 2015 18:00 | Angola | 38−21 | Senegal | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 19 March 2015 18:00 | | (20–10) | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 19 March 2015 18:00 | | Report | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 19 March 2015 20:00 | Tunisia | 26−21 | DR Congo | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 19 March 2015 20:00 | | (14–11) | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 19 March 2015 20:00 | | Report | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 20 March 2015 18:00 | Senegal | 19−25 | Tunisia | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 20 March 2015 18:00 | | (13–13) | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 20 March 2015 18:00 | | Report | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 20 March 2015 20:00 | Angola | 36−28 | DR Congo | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 20 March 2015 20:00 | | (19–13) | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 20 March 2015 20:00 | | Report | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 21 March 2015 18:00 | DR Congo | 22–25 | Senegal | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 21 March 2015 18:00 | | (14–11) | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 21 March 2015 18:00 | | Report | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 21 March 2015 20:00 | Angola | 26–23 | Tunisia | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 21 March 2015 20:00 | | (10–12) | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |
| 21 March 2015 20:00 | | Report | | Pavilhão da Cidadela, Luanda |

## Olympic Qualification Tournaments

The Olympic Qualification Tournaments were held on 18–20 March 2016. Only twelve teams that have not yet qualified through the five events mentioned above could play in the tournament:
* The top six teams from the World championship that did not already qualify through their continental championships are eligible to participate in the tournament.
* The best ranked teams of each continent in the World championship represented the continent in order to determine the continental ranking. The first ranked continent received two more places for the tournament. The second, third and fourth ranked continent received one place each. The last place belongs to a team from Oceania, if it was ranked between 8th–12th at the World Championship. But, as no team from Oceania met this condition, the second ranked continent received an extra place instead. The teams, which already earned their places through their World championship ranking were not considered for receiving places through the continental criterion.
* The twelve teams were allocated in three pools of four teams according to the table below. The top two teams from each pool qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games.
| 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournament #1 | 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournament #2 | 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournament #3 |
| 2nd from World: Netherlands 7th from World: France 2nd from Asia: Japan 2nd from Africa: Tunisia | 3rd from World: Romania 6th from World: Denmark 3rd from Americas: Uruguay 4th from Europe: Montenegro | 4th from World: Poland 5th from World: Russia 3rd from Europe: Sweden 4th from Americas: Mexico |

### 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournament #1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Netherlands | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 62 | +41 | 6 | Advanced to final tournament |
| 2 | France (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 75 | 56 | +19 | 4 | Advanced to final tournament |
| 3 | Japan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 79 | 78 | +1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Tunisia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 55 | 116 | −61 | 0 | |
All times are local (UTC+1).
| 18 March 2016 16:45 | Japan | 37–20 | Tunisia | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU) |
| 18 March 2016 16:45 | Fujii 8 | (19–8) | Hamrouni 7 | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU) |
| 18 March 2016 16:45 | 3× 3× | Report | 3× 2× | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU) |
| 18 March 2016 19:00 | Netherlands | 24–17 | France | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Arntsen, Røen (NOR) |
| 18 March 2016 19:00 | Van der Heijden 5 | (9–7) | Dembélé 5 | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Arntsen, Røen (NOR) |
| 18 March 2016 19:00 | 2× 2× | Report | 3× 3× | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Arntsen, Røen (NOR) |
| 19 March 2016 16:45 | Netherlands | 33–25 | Japan | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD) |
| 19 March 2016 16:45 | Malestein 8 | (15–16) | Yokoshima 7 | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD) |
| 19 March 2016 16:45 | 3× 5× | Report | 3× 3× | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD) |
| 19 March 2016 19:00 | France | 33–15 | Tunisia | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU) |
| 19 March 2016 19:00 | Houette 8 | (20–6) | three players 3 | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU) |
| 19 March 2016 19:00 | 4× 4× | Report | 3× 3× 1× | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU) |
| 20 March 2016 17:45 | Tunisia | 20–46 | Netherlands | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 2,800 Referees: Arntsen, Røen (NOR) |
| 20 March 2016 17:45 | three players 3 | (10–27) | Abbingh 8 | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 2,800 Referees: Arntsen, Røen (NOR) |
| 20 March 2016 17:45 | 3× 3× | Report | 3× 4× | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 2,800 Referees: Arntsen, Røen (NOR) |
| 20 March 2016 19:30 | France | 25–17 | Japan | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD) |
| 20 March 2016 19:30 | Pineau 7 | (11–7) | Fujii 5 | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD) |
| 20 March 2016 19:30 | 3× 1× | Report | 3× 2× | Arènes de Metz, Metz Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD) |

### 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournament #2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Romania | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 91 | 67 | +24 | 5 | Advanced to final tournament |
| 2 | Montenegro | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 83 | 64 | +19 | 5 | Advanced to final tournament |
| 3 | Denmark (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 85 | 75 | +10 | 2 | |
| 4 | Uruguay | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 55 | 108 | −53 | 0 | |
All times are local (UTC+1).
| 18 March 2016 16:45 | Uruguay | 19–34 | Montenegro | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 1,100 Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS) |
| 18 March 2016 16:45 | Scarrone 4 | (10–15) | Mehmedović 7 | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 1,100 Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS) |
| 18 March 2016 16:45 | 2× 3× | Report | 3× 5× | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 1,100 Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS) |
| 18 March 2016 19:00 | Romania | 32–25 | Denmark | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 3,100 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| 18 March 2016 19:00 | Buceschi 10 | (19–13) | Dalby, Spellerberg 4 | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 3,100 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| 18 March 2016 19:00 | 2× 3× | Report | 3× 4× | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 3,100 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| 19 March 2016 17:45 | Romania | 36–19 | Uruguay | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS) |
| 19 March 2016 17:45 | Chintoan 9 | (17–10) | Fynn 4 | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS) |
| 19 March 2016 17:45 | 3× 3× | Report | 3× 6× | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS) |
| 19 March 2016 20:00 | Denmark | 22–26 | Montenegro | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 3,200 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE) |
| 19 March 2016 20:00 | Jørgensen 7 | (10–13) | Bulatović 9 | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 3,200 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE) |
| 19 March 2016 20:00 | 3× 4× | Report | 3× 4× | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 3,200 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE) |
| 20 March 2016 17:30 | Montenegro | 23–23 | Romania | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE) |
| 20 March 2016 17:30 | Despotović 8 | (11–15) | Chintoan 6 | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE) |
| 20 March 2016 17:30 | 3× 6× | Report | 2× 3× | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE) |
| 20 March 2016 20:00 | Denmark | 38–17 | Uruguay | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| 20 March 2016 20:00 | Rej 9 | (19–7) | Barreiro 8 | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| 20 March 2016 20:00 | 3× 4× | Report | 2× 4× | Ceres Arena, Aarhus Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |

### 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournament #3

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Russia (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 101 | 71 | +30 | 6 | Advanced to final tournament |
| 2 | Sweden | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 81 | +19 | 4 | Advanced to final tournament |
| 3 | Poland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 85 | 71 | +14 | 2 | |
| 4 | Mexico | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 51 | 114 | −63 | 0 | |
All times are local (UTC+3).
| 18 March 2016 17:30 | Poland | 25–27 | Russia | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR) |
| 18 March 2016 17:30 | Kobylińska 5 | (11–11) | Vyakhireva 7 | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR) |
| 18 March 2016 17:30 | 2× 2× | Report | 4× 3× | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR) |
| 18 March 2016 20:00 | Sweden | 41–20 | Mexico | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 18 March 2016 20:00 | Sand 5 | (21–9) | Aguirre 8 | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 18 March 2016 20:00 | 3× 5× | Report | 3× 2× | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 19 March 2016 16:00 | Poland | 24–30 | Sweden | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 3,700 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA) |
| 19 March 2016 16:00 | Zych 6 | (12–16) | Alm 6 | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 3,700 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA) |
| 19 March 2016 16:00 | 3× 1× | Report | 3× 3× | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 3,700 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA) |
| 19 March 2016 18:30 | Russia | 37–17 | Mexico | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR) |
| 19 March 2016 18:30 | Gorshkova 6 | (17–11) | Sifuentes 5 | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR) |
| 19 March 2016 18:30 | 3× 5× | Report | 3× 3× 1× | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR) |
| 20 March 2016 18:00 | Russia | 37–29 | Sweden | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 20 March 2016 18:00 | Dmitrieva, Vyakhireva 7 | (15–10) | Gulldén 8 | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 20 March 2016 18:00 | 3× 2× | Report | 3× 3× | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 20 March 2016 20:30 | Mexico | 14–36 | Poland | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA) |
| 20 March 2016 20:30 | Esquivel 6 | (5–18) | Kołodziejsk 8 | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA) |
| 20 March 2016 20:30 | 3× 1× | Report | 3× 2× | Sportcomplex Zvezdny, Astrakhan Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA) |