Egypt defeat Chile in their opening World Championship game (Photo: the International Handball Federation's Twitter account)
Hosts Egypt kicked off their World Championship campaign with an easy 35-29 win over Chile in the tournament's opener in Cairo on Wednesday.
The Pharaohs had the upper hand in the first half, going to the locker room with a comfortable 18-11 advantage, with Yehia El-Deraa and Yehia Khaled stealing the show.
However, they eased off in the second half to allow Chile to gain the upper hand for long spells, with the South Americans trimming the gap at the end to six goals as some lax Egypt defending prevented them from increasing their lead.
Zamalek playmaker El-Deraa was named the match's best player after scoring six goals.
Egypt next face Macedonia, who replaced the coronavirus-hit Czech Republic, on Saturday before ending their group stage campaign with a tough clash against Sweden.
The first three teams in each group advance to the main round.
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