France beats Norway 33-26 to win 6th handball world title

PARIS (AP) Defending champion France overcame a shaky start to beat Norway 33-26 on Sunday and win the handball world title for the sixth time. Star player

PARIS (AP) Defending champion France overcame a shaky start to beat Norway 33-26 on Sunday and win the handball world title for the sixth time.

Star player Nikola Karabatic scored the final goal in the last minute, and moments later the home crowd in Paris roared as coach Didier Dinart joined his players in celebrating an 11th major title.

France, which was trailing early to a physical Norway side, has won four of the past five worlds.

This win went some way to making up for a narrow defeat to Denmark in last year's Olympic final, where France missed out on a third straight Olympic title.

The French team has also won three European championships.

Norway missed out on a first major title but still managed its best result.

The Norwegians finished fourth at last year's Euros but failed to make the quarterfinals at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.