Coach hides as Danes win on penalties

ATHENS, Aug 29 (Reuters) -- Danish coach Jan Pytlick could not bear to watch the penalty shoot-out against South Korea that brought Denmark the women's handball gold medal for the third Olympics in a row on Sunday.

As his players lined up to throw after the match had finished 34-34 after two periods of extra time, Pytlick turned away and closed his eyes.

"I could not bear to look," Pytlick said after Denmark's 4-2 shoot-out win.

"It was such a huge emotional strain that I just couldn't watch.

"I only realised that we had won when I saw all the players lying in a heap hugging each other."

Denmark's unprecedented hat-trick of golds came after a titanic struggle that seesawed for 80 minutes of normal and extra time.

The Koreans looked to have won in extra time but with seven seconds remaining on the clock, Katrine Fruelund levelled with her 14th goal of the game.

Danish right wing/back Trine Jensen said the team never felt they had lost the game even when time was running out.

"We knew it would be difficult but we always believed in ourselves even when we were behind," she said. "They had been behind and come back so we knew it was possible."

In the penalty shoot-out, Karin Mortensen produced a good save and then Pil Hee-moon fired her effort straight at the Dane.

When Henriette Mikkelsen buried Denmark's fourth, the Danish celebrated.

"I can't believe it is the third time that we have won it in a row but you know it doesn't matter if it's the third time or the second time, what matters is the gold medal today," Jensen said.

Pytlick sympathised with the Koreans losing in such a manner.

"Korea have an equal share of the medal," he said. "It seems a bit unfair but we got it."

Korean captain Sang Eun Lee refused to be downcast by the defeat. "This silver medal has the same worth as the gold," she said.

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