All-European clashes will decide medals in Greece

18 Jun. 2022

All-European clashes will decide medals in Greece

The final day of the 2022 IHF Women’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship is here: just eight games remain of the 72, with all three medals to be confirmed this evening.

Spain play Netherlands for gold in the very last match of Greece 2022. Five years ago Spain finished fifth at the debut edition of the Youth Beach Handball World Championship in Mauritius and the final today is a rematch of a main round clash from the European Championship last year, held in Bulgaria.

On the sand in Varna, Netherlands won via shoot-out 2-1, thanks to a 22:16 first period and 9:6 shoot-out win. But Spain had come back in the middle of those periods, to take the second 24:22.

Both teams reached the final in Heraklion via that method as well, Netherlands finally seeing off the previously-unbeaten Hungary and Spain dispatching Poland.

Netherlands’ coach Ronald Thijssen allowed his players some time to celebrate their progression to a guaranteed medal, but not too much.

“The players can relax, but not for long,” he said after the win last night. “This evening they can sort of celebrate but they have to go to bed early, take the rest. in the meantime, we as coaches will come up with a game plan for the final.”

That game plan could likely involve how they will stop Maria Trujillo Arteaga if the game was to go to a shoot-out – the Spain goalkeeper and specialist blocked three of the five Poland attempts in the semi-final to ensure a ticket to the final for her side.

“It’s the best feeling of my career so far,” said Trujillo Arteaga to ihf.info after the match. “It gives me a lot of energy of a good job. I have been training hard a lot of time as a goalkeeper and specialist and now all of this work has a result. It’s sensational, I will remember it forever.”

Maybe she will have new sensations later this evening, but two teams hoping for their own are Poland and Hungary who will be looking to overcome their disappointment and go home with a medal in the bronze-medal match.

The final day starts with a morning session of 5-16 placement matches. Hong Kong will be hoping to beat Puerto Rico in the 15/16 placement match, not only to avoid a last place finish, but to put to bed memories of their preliminary round shoot-out loss, which saw them miss out on a main round place.

Fresh off of their first-ever Beach Handball World Championship win at any level, India have fresh impetus for another win, this time against Uruguay for 13/14 place.

“This one match will change us, transform us,” said India pivot Gulshan Sharma after they defeated Puerto Rico 2-0 in their last consolation round group game. “In the next match, it is a morale boost for us.”

Greece play Thailand for 11/12 place while Romania and Ukraine will decide 9/10 place, something which Romania coach Florin Ciupitu told us on Thursday they were aiming for. 

“The situation for us now is that this 9-16 placement tournament we propose to win, even if it’s the second tournament,” he said. “For us, it will be like a tournament for medals. It’s the same format, it’s like 1-8 place, but 9-16.”

Brazil play Germany for seventh place and France go up against Argentina for a top five spot in a repeat of their preliminary round Group C clash, which Argentina won 2-1 via a shoot-out (5:3).

2022 IHF Women’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship
Sunday 19 June – Final Day Schedule

10:20 7-8. place Brazil vs Germany
10:20 11-12. place Greece vs Thailand
10:20 15-16. place Puerto Rico vs Hong Kong
12:00 5-6. place France vs Argentina
12:00 9-10. place Romania vs Ukraine
12:00 13-14. place India vs Uruguay
16:00 3-4. place Hungary vs Poland
18:00 Final Netherlands vs Spain