Dreams have come true for five members of the Borussia Dortmund handball squad over the past few days, as they secured qualification for this year's Olympic Games in Paris with their national teams and can look forward to competing for medals this summer.

In handball, the big dream for every athlete is to take part in the Olympic Games. During the international break, a quintet from Borussia Dortmund were able to celebrate qualification and secure their ticket to Paris. Lisa Antl, Sarah Wachter and Meret Ossenkopp of Germany had to face Slovenia, European Championship bronze medallists Montenegro and underdogs Paraguay in Neu-Ulm.

They started off with a commanding victory 31-25 victory over Slovenia on Thursday, which laid the foundations for their subsequent qualification. Two days later - against Montenegro - the German team led by ten goals at one stage and won 28-24 in the end. In the final win over Paraguay (37-20), BVB goalkeeper Sarah Wachter was voted player of the match.

While Germany's qualification means they will participate in the Olympics for the first time since 2008, the Netherlands have been a regular participant at the games. This year, the country neighbouring Germany will once again look to compete for medals in the French capital. In Torrevieja, the team led by left winger Zoë Sprengers beat not only a Spanish side featuring BVB pivot Carmen Campos, but also Argentina and the Czech Republic without any major problems. Spain, as the second-placed team in the group, also booked a spot at the Olympics.

In Debrecen, Hungary, however, Haruno Sasaki's Japan team missed out on a place at the Olympics. After defeat in their opening game against Sweden (35-28), Japan had it all to do in their final game against the host nation, but fell to a 37-28 loss. A 43-16 win over Great Britain in the second game made no difference in the end.