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.

Qualification
The following nations were qualified:

Group A in 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

All Star Team

 * Goalkeeper: 🇫🇷 Valérie Nicolas (FRA)
 * Left wing: Tanja Oder
 * Left back: 🇺🇦 Olena Tsyhytsia (UKR)
 * Pivot: 🇫🇷 Isabelle Wendling (FRA)
 * Centre back: 🇭🇺 Anita Görbicz (HUN)
 * Right back: 🇭🇺 Bojana Radulović (HUN)
 * Right wing: 🇰🇷 Woo Sun-Hee (KOR)

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 (70%). Teams won on average 4.58 penalty (7m) 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.