Overview:

 

Croatia: After their bronze medal at the World Games in 2013, reigning world champions Croatia are competing in this year’s edition to fight for gold. Davor Rokavec, the coach of Croatia team, claims that they cannot aim for anything less than the top of the podium: “Our group is like a little European Championship plus Egypt. The one thing that is certain about Egypt is that they have a shooter specialist – it’s their main characteristic. We have a good ratio with Hungary and Poland and hopefully the tradition will live on,” and adds: “As world champions, we are not allowed to think differently. The goal is, as always, to be on top and to do so, we have to win against the best. There’s no hiding, we have to give our best and that’s it.”

 

At the 2017 European Championship held in Zagreb, Croatia, they were beat by Spain (1st place) and Russia (2nd place) and ended up with the bronze medal.

 

Hungary:

Hungary have been one of the leading nations of beach handball for a long time. Lately, it seems they are just waiting under the podium to hit the spotlight again. At the 2017 European Championship in Zagreb, Hungary’s men’s team finished in 4th place, just as they did at the 2016 World Championship held in Budapest.

 

“The European Championship was excellent preparation for the team. Before the European tournament, we only had short time to prepare, since it started earlier than usual. This was noticeable in the performance of the team,” said Istvan Gulyas, Hungary coach.

 

It were world champions of Croatia who snatched the bronze medal from Hungary’s grasp at the EURO, winning the match for third place 2:0 after Hungary lost the semi-final to gold medallists Spain. Hungary’s previous best result at the World Games was the silver medal, won in 2009.

 

Egypt:

The Egyptian men’s team are the gold medallists of the 2004 World Championship on home soil in El Gouna. At the 2006, 2008 and 2010 World Championships, they claimed 4th place.

 

They ranked 6th at the 2012 World Championship and 8th at the 2014 and 2016 World Championships. Egypt attended the World Games in 2005 in Duisburg, Germany and finished 5th.

 

Poland:

Poland’s men’s team ranked 10th at 2017 European Championships held in Zagreb, Croatia and finished 9th at the 2013 and 2015 European Championships.

Follow The World Games 2017 on the IHF website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channels.