The opening day of The World Games 2022 men’s beach handball competition saw host nation USA live up to expectations with two wins from two.

On the Alabamian sand in Birmingham Michael Hinson’s side secured 2-0 victories against Puerto Rico in the morning and Argentina in the afternoon session.

The US coach was able to change half his squad from their 2022 IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship  and it immediately paid dividends in front of a packed and noisy crowd at Sloss Furnaces.

A 29:18, 28:20 win over Puerto Rico saw the returning 2,02m Drew Donlin top score with 19 points while a 22:14, 20:14 victory over South American runners-up Argentina had the goals spread throughout the team.

“This was the first time in my seven-year beach handball career I played in a full stadium on American soil and the feeling was incredible,” said the USA’s Ebiye Udo-Udoma, who scored 12 points in each match, to ihf.info.

“Puerto Rico and Argentina are both Pan American rivals who we had faced multiple times earlier this year between our continental championship in Mexico and the world championship in Greece, so to be able to start with two 2-0 wins against teams that know us well was a great way to start the competition.”

Newly-crowned world champions Croatia started with a win, but by their standards, it was not great. A 2-0 victory over New Zealand (26:10, 24:18) looked simple on paper, but the Oceania side in their debut World Games appearance caused the European team all sorts of problems in the second period.

Having led a number of times, the kiwis – as they call themselves – were all-square with the Croatians with under two minutes remaining (16:16). However, when you have the world championship MVP, Lucian Bura (who scored 22 points in the match) and a goalkeeper like Dominik Markovic, who made nine saves in the match, it is never over until the final whistle.

That proved to be the case as Mladen Paradzik’s side stepped up and secured a 24:18 victory. 

“In the second set, it was tight until the eighth minute, but in the end, we showed why we are here,” said Croatia’s Valentino Valentakovic to Beach Handball Croatia. 

“We are very satisfied, and now we have a break until Tuesday, when we also go for victory, until the end of the tournament.”

For New Zealand, they could showcase not only their style of beach handball but their world-famous haka ceremonial Māori war dance to the world.

“The Haka was well received by the Croatian team and the crowd in attendance, a lot with their phones out,” said New Zealand coach Tim Rayner to ihf.info.

“So far, The World Games has been a really cool experience with the athletes' village and being immersed around different sports from many nations,” he added. “The UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) facilities and team have been really accommodating. 

“We were lucky enough to have the support of the NZ Fistball women’s team for our match against Croatia and we look forward to going to watch their games when time allows it.”

New Zealand lost their second match 0-2 against Qatar, with Hani Kakhi scoring 14 points and Mohsen Al-Yafeai making eight saves in a 18:12, 22:6 win.

Record winners of The World Games Brazil have also started with two 2-0 wins, in the South American derby against debutants Argentina (20:16, 28:20) and against Puerto Rico (29:16, 24:8) where Gil Pires scored 23 points.

With all teams from the preliminary round qualifying directly to two main round groups, the games at this stage are about maximising points to carry through and secure the best possibility of a semi-final spot.

The competition continues with men’s preliminary group games on Tuesday.

For full results and schedule visit the IHF mini-site.