Bury handball player Kathryn Fudge found herself in the Olympic record books twice following her performance on Saturday, becoming not only a part of the first women’s Great Britain team to feature at an Olympics, but also the first woman to score a handball goal for the host nation.

Facing hotly tipped medal contenders Montenegro and a world number one player in Bojana Popovic, Great Britain had a tough introduction in the London 2012 Handball Arena and were well beaten in a 31-19 defeat.

The 22 year old’s hopes were not dashed by the disappointing debut however, as she reflected on a good opening game against one of the best teams in the world.

“The result might not have been what we had hoped for but for me personally, to be the first woman to score a handball goal for Great Britain is really cool,” she said.

“This is what we have been working towards so it is just absolutely amazing to be here and we can’t wait to get going.”

Although the opposition took a commanding lead from the outset, the home crowd were in full voice to lift the team’s spirits and Fudge is adamant this can make all the difference.

“It was absolutely amazing out there,” she added. “As soon as we came in they were straight behind us and they just loved it.

“You could feel them out on the court, they were like an extra player. They were celebrating with us and were so behind us in attack and defence- they were an amazing crowd.”

Bury handballer Ciaran Williams also wrote his name into the Olympic history record books, having become a part of the first men’s Great Britain handball team to play at an Olympics.

Having got his London 2012 debut underway at the Copperbox, the 24 year old and his team put up a valiant effort against reigning Olympic and world champions France, but couldn’t come back from a 21-7 deficit at half-time and eventually lost 44-15.

Lloyds TSB, proud supporter of Team GB and proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Get closer to the Games at lloydstsb.com/london2012.