Women’s Group D: Norway, Denmark, Vietnam, Mexico
Norway
Having one of the world’s best women’s team in the ‘indoor’ version of handball has clearly had a positive effect on Norway’s women’s team as they have performed – and got medals – at the very highest level on sand.
In the IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship, a sixth-place debut in 2008 was followed by a gold medal (2010) and then three consecutive bronze medals (2012, 2014, 2016), suggesting, on one side a failure to overcome the final hurdle, but also a strong will to succeed after disappointment and get a different colour of medal to hang around their necks on the way home from Russia later this month.
On the continental stage, Norway have been in the medal positions in recent years. In 2007 they grabbed bronze in Italy, went one better on home sand in Larvik in 2009 with silver but finished in fourth in 2011 in Umag, Croatia. However, 2013, 2015 and 2017 were like steps on a staircase to a summit of gold with bronze (2013), silver (2015) and then, finally, gold last May in Zagreb, Croatia, where they beat Poland 2-0 in the final.
Norway lost just three sets and one match on their way to gold at the EHF EURO, going down 2-1 to Netherlands in the preliminary round, after defeating Greece, Italy, and Hungary 2-0. A 2-1 win over Russia in the quarter-finals led to a 2-0 victory over world champions Spain in the semi-finals, ahead of their gold medal performance against Poland.
Ida Marie Wernersen scored 16 points for Eskil Berg Anderassen’s side in the final as they celebrated gold, but more success, coupled with disappointment was to come just a matter of weeks later as the team could celebrate a fourth-place finish at the 2017 World Games in Poland after they lost to Spain in the bronze medal match 2-1. The 3/4 Placement Match came after they lost to Argentina 2-1 in the semi-finals and Andersassen will be looking to fine-tuning their shoot-out skills, knowing the competition in their preliminary group will feature well-drilled teams in the art of the shoot-out.
Goalkeeper Regina Gulbrandsen was named in the All-Star Team for Budapest 2016, and her teammate back then, Martine Welfler, told IHF.info after the draw event in May, that she was already looking forward to getting stuck in to the opposition.
“I think our group is very exciting,” said the player who scored 44 spin shots at Budapest 2016 as she helped guide her Norway team to bronze. “I know that Denmark are a good team, but I have never seen Mexico or Vietnam play, so I have no idea what to expect, however we will study them.
“One thing is for sure though – and that is that we will approach all the teams very seriously, prepare well, fight and will have to be at our best to beat them.”
Coach Andreassen is also an EHF Beach Handball Lecturer and has been coach of the team since 2007, before they made the breakthrough onto the world stage. He will look to established players Maren Aardahl and Katinka Haltvik to lead his side once again on their quest for medals.
Denmark
Another country with a strong indoor handball history and beach success are Denmark, but two silvers in a row after their debut in 2010, (2010, 2012) saw a seventh-place finish in 2014 and then no further world championships since.
Head Coach Morten Frandsen Holmen has experienced this run, having been in charge of the women’s team since 2009. He is also owner of the unofficial national women’s team ‘The Danish Beachhandball Dream’ who compete across the EHF European Beach Handball Tour.
In addition to his world championship medals, he also took silver at the EHF Women’s Beach Handball Championship in Croatia in 2011, at home in Randers in 2013 and last time around his team fell just short, having to settle for fourth place in Zagreb, Croatia in 2017 after losing to Spain in the bronze medal match 2-1, thanks to a 5:2 penalty defeat, but with their top four place, a ticket to Kazan 2018 was confirmed.
Holmen has already named his 10 players for Kazan, and they include Hanne Frandsen Holmen (Visse IF), Camilla Kronborg Lauritzen (DHG Odense), Line Gyldenløve Kristensen (Bjerringbro FH),
Melanie Fuglsbjerg (Skanderborg Handball), Pernille Rähr (Lyngby HK), Sandra T. Hansen (DHG Odense), Camilla Fangel (Silkeborg-Voel CFF), Olivia Black (Roskilde Handball), Christina Wildbork (Ajax Copenhagen) and Frederikke Buhl Lærke (Roskilde Handball).
"We have succeeded in putting together a squad consisting of a good mix of experienced players with great finals experience and some exciting new talents that impressed me in the try-outs, squad meet-ups and the EBT,” he told the Danish Handball Federation website.
“I believe that the combination of young and more seasoned players can make us dangerous as outsiders in Russia.”
Vietnam
An unknown quantity at World Championship level, Vietnam bring their women’s team to Kazan 2018, having finished in a silver medal position at the 2017 AHF Asian Beach Handball Championships, held in Pattaya, Thailand last May.
A 2-0 victory against fellow Kazan 2018 opponents Chinese Taipei opened their campaign, but their initial excitement was quickly tempered by the hosts who beat them 2-0 in their second match. A 2-0 victory against PR of China in their final game of the round-robin tournament was effectively a Kazan 2018 play-off and with their 2-0 win, Vietnam could start packing their bags as they sent China packing.
More recently Vietnam won the newly-formed South East Asian Beach Handball Championship, with the first-ever edition held in the Philippines back in November 2017 in Dumaguete City, where they beat the hosts and Thailand in the three-team tournament.
Mexico
A fourth-place finish at the 2018 Pan American Beach Handball Championships, held in Oceanside, California in March was the result Mexico needed to book their place at their first-ever IHF Beach Handball World Championship – for men’s or women’s teams.
In their opening preliminary round match, they faced eventual silver medallists Uruguay and lost 2-0, while another 2-0 loss followed, against Paraguay in their next match the following day, but a 2-0 win over debutants Trinidad and Tobago set up a quarter-final match-up against Argentina, meaning the winners would qualify for Kazan 2018, no matter what their result in the semi-finals.
It was an extremely tense affair as the Mexicans upset the favoured Argentina side, beating them 2-1 with a 5:4 shoot-out win following both sides winning a set 15:14 each. Mexico could not claim a medal in the end though, as they lost 8:4 on penalties to Paraguay in the bronze-medal match.
As part of their long-term preparation for the Pan American championships, Mexico participated in the 11th Annual SoCal Beach Handball Championship in the USA in late 2017 where they appeared as ‘Colima’ and finished as runners-up, losing to host team San Francisco Cal Heat in the final 2-1 (15:13), (10:19), [7:5 SO].
National team player Veridiana Uresty was named as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and will be one to watch in Kazan.
Uresty and her teammates have been working to raise support of their first appearance at a world championship, with friendly matches and fundraising drives as they aim to arrive in Russia fully prepared and ready for action.
Follow their progress via their Facebook page.
Photos: Norwegian Handball Federation, Danish Handball Federation, Vietnamese Handball Federation, Mexican Handball Federation