2003 World Women's Handball Championship

The 2003 World Women's Handball Championship, the 16th handball world championship for women, was played in Croatia between 2 and 14 December 2003.
France won their first ever title, beating Hungary in the final.

Qualification

The following nations were qualified:

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D

Preliminary round

Group A in Split">Split, Croatia">Split

Tuesday, 2 December:
* 41 - 18
* 32 - 25
* 28 - 25
Wednesday, 3 December:
* 33 - 27
* 12 - 38
* 15 - 33
Thursday, 4 December:
* 27 - 25
* 28 - 24
* 33 - 13
Saturday, 6 December:
* 12 - 36
* 20 - 28
* 44 - 41
Sunday, 7 December:
* 30 - 19
* 28 - 29
* 27 - 25

Group B in [Poreč]

Tuesday, 2 December:
* 28 - 27
* 46 - 16
* 29 - 19
Wednesday, 3 December:
* 31 - 18
* 22 - 26
* 20 - 47
Thursday, 4 December:
* 27 - 21
* 22 - 29
* 38 - 15
Saturday, 6 December:
* 24 - 18
* 26 - 30
* 12 - 41
Sunday, 7 December:
* 31 - 16
* 34 - 39
* 39 - 14

Group C in [Karlovac]

Tuesday, 2 December:
* 30 - 24
* 29 - 30
* 43 - 13
Wednesday, 3 December:
* 28 - 28
* 25 - 27
* 16 - 24
Thursday, 4 December:
* 33 - 15
* 45 - 13
* 41 - 30
Saturday, 6 December:
* 14 - 28
* 19 - 33
* 25 - 23
Sunday, 7 December:
* 30 - 39
* 29 - 21
* 31 - 18

Group D in [Čakovec]

Tuesday, 2 December:
* 43 - 25
* 34 - 26
* 20 - 20
Wednesday, 3 December:
* 28 - 32
* 30 - 27
* 20 - 29
Thursday, 4 December:
* 38 - 25
* 30 - 28
* 24 - 21
Saturday, 6 December:
* 17 - 36
* 34 - 30
* 29 - 21
Sunday, 7 December:
* 31 - 26
* 29 - 28
* 19 - 29

Main Round

Top two teams from each group advanced to the Semifinals. The third placed teams from each group competed in the 5th/6th placement match.

Group I

Tuesday, 9 December:
* 27 - 26
* 31 - 27
* 25 - 27
Wednesday, 10 December:
* 25 - 25
* 25 - 28
* 33 - 35
Thursday, 11 December:
* 27 - 38
* 29 - 32
* 20 - 19

Group II in [Rijeka]

Tuesday, 9 December:
* 31 - 30
* 27 - 30
* 26 - 25
Wednesday, 10 December:
* 24 - 24
* 23 - 25
* 30 - 28
Thursday, 11 December:
* 31 - 23
* 29 - 28
* 23 - 35

Final round

In Zagreb

Ranking and statistics

All Star Team

Goalkeeper:
Left wing:
Left back:
Pivot:
Centre back:
Right back:
'''Right wing:'''

Statistics

The total average number of shots and throws taken in the preliminary round was 51.79 with a shot efficacy of 52.46%. The greatest efficacy was acquired by shots at the goal line. Teams won on average 4.58 penalty throws. The winning teams took on average 3.55 shots more that the defeated teams. Defeated teams were also 17.98% less efficient than the winning ones, not only in goal-scoring but also in number and efficacy of the fast breaks and assists.