SC Magdeburg have been crowned the winners of the 2021 IHF Super Globe after beating European handball champions Barcelona 33-28 in the final that took place at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on Saturday night.
The German team led 19-16 at halftime and maintained their lead in the half to outscore their opponents by five points at the final whistle.
The final marked the end of the 10-team tournament that included representatives of the six continental federation as well as last holders Barcelona, wild card Magdeburg and representatives of hosts Saudi Arabia Al-Noor and Al-Wehda clubs.
The final day’s other matches also confirmed the ranking of all the teams in the competition.
Danish club Aalborg defeated Brazil’s EC Pinheiros 34-29 to finish in third, leaving the 2021 South and Central America Handball Confederation champions to settle for fourth.
Earlier in the day, African champions Zamalek of Egypt beat Al-Wehda 42-22 in the Placement Round 5-10 to secure fifth place, while the Saudi outfit finished ninth overall.
Meanwhile, Al-Duhail of Qatar, the Asian champions, beat Al-Noor 38-22 to finish the tournament in sixth spot. Al-Noor ended up in seventh position.
San Francisco CalHeat, winners of the 2021 North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation championship, finished in 10th place, having lost 32-23 to Al-Duhail on Friday night, while Oceania’s Sydney University took eighth position after drawing 26-26 with Zamalek.