Yesterday, the preliminary round of the 2022 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championship got underway at the Karteros Beach Sports Center outside Heraklion. Our team was at the beach yesterday for a picture-perfect outing for enthusiasts, athletes, and officials. The hot Cretan sun shined on the opening and hundreds of marvelous athletes from around the world gathered on Greece’s biggest island.
In the Men’s Division Group A, tournament hosts Greece secured a place in the final 12 with a tough win over a powerful USA team last night. In Group B, the Croatian team is through as well, with four points. In Group C both Denmark and Norway won two matches to qualify for the main round. Brazil, a tournament favorite, also sealed a spot with a 2-0 win over New Zealand.
The Women’s Division is progressing as expected, given the highly competitive field. Greece’s extremely strong team secured a spot in the final 12 with two wins yesterday.
As for Group B Vietnam and the USA play off, and in Group C Uruguay and Australia play off. These two groups will see the powerful Denmark and Spain teams go head-to-head, and the Netherlands and Argentina vie for the extra two main round points.
Group D competition saw Germany secure a final 12 spot with four points. Many other positions leading to this weekend’s finals are still up for grabs, some of them to be decided in today’s matches. The Women’s schedule is below.
Today’s all-important matches will determine spots in the final 12 leading to the championship. Key matchups will be the Women’s Germany-Norway, and Hungary-Brazil, as well as the Vietnam-USA match.
On the Men’s side, the New Zealand-Qatar match promises competitive highlights as the Kiwis quest to achieve the final round for the first time. The USA-Puerto Rico matchup is this evening. Greece now seems to be the favorite, but the team will face a test facing Argentina today.
To see the schedule for today’s matches, or to find out more about this year’s IHF Beach Handball World Championships, readers should visit the federation’s official Instagram, Facebook, or website.
Source: IHF News
