2022 has marked the complete return to a regular calendar in world handball, as the sport emerged from the confinements of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the world, handball thrived and produced lasting memories, with excellent matches at club and national team level in senior competitions.

However, big steps have also been made in the younger age categories and in different disciplines like beach handball – with the return of the IHF Beach Handball World Championship – or wheelchair handball, where the first edition of the IHF Four-a-Side Wheelchair Handball World Championship took place in Egypt last September.

With plenty of talking points to be discussed, let's go straight to the point and review what happened in the handball world in 2022.

A stellar Super Globe delivers the same champion

The first edition of the IHF Men's Super Globe with 12 teams took place in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, from 18 to 23 October, as some of the top teams in the world lined up to deliver some instant classics. The competition was won by German powerhouse SC Magdeburg, which became only the third team after Barça and Füchse Berlin to retain their trophy with an outstanding performance in the final.

It was only the second time in history that the final went to extra time after Füchse Berlin beat Telekom Veszprem HC in 2015, but it was one for the ages, with the highest number of goals scored in a single final at the IHF Men's Super Globe. Magdeburg took control early in the match against Barça but faltered later in the match, with the Spanish side looking set to deliver another trophy.

But on the wings of a 12-goal outing from right back Omar Ingi Magnusson, Magdeburg sealed a 41:39 win, taking their second trophy in the competition, as many as Ciudad Real and Füchse Berlin, only behind Barca's five trophies. Łomża Industria Kielce won the bronze medal with a 35:26 win over Egyptian side Al Ahly.

There were also new individual records set, as Al Kuwait's Ali Saleh and Khaleej's Hassan Kaddah each scored 16 goals in a single match, breaking the individual record for the number of goals scored by a single player in a match. Kaddah, who projects as a leading star in handball in the following years, also became the competition's top goal scorer with 45 goals in four matches.

Norway strike gold at IHF Women's Junior World Championship

After the 2020 edition of the IHF Women's Junior World Championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition returned in 2022 with its first 32-team line-up, as Slovenia hosted the 23rd edition from 22 June to 3 July.

For the second time in history and 12 years after an excellent generation secured the gold medal at Republic of Korea 2010, Norway delivered a superb performance to secure the trophy with a 31:29 win against Hungary in the big final, played in the Zlatorog Arena in Celje.

With several experienced players in their squad, Norway were undefeated in the competition, drawing only against France, and dominated their opponents in the knockout phase. They took a 37:20 win against Switzerland in the quarter-finals and a 32:23 win against the Netherlands, who eventually won the bronze medal in the semi-finals.

Norway also had three players in the All-Star team of the competition – goalkeeper June Krogh, left back Martine Andersen and line player Kaja Rohne – while Dutch left back Kim Molenaar was both the MVP and the competition's top goal scorer with 62 goals, sharing the latter title with Czech Republic's Charlotte Cholevova.

Republic of Korea wins first gold medal at the IHF Women's Youth World Championship

The IHF Women's Youth World Championship also returned in full fledge after the tournament was cancelled in 2020 and produced a huge surprise: the first non-European side won the trophy, as the Republic of Korea produced an otherworldly performance, enthralling everybody present in North Macedonia from 30 July to 10 August.

The Asian side delivered a nine-match winning streak to clinch the trophy, with a strong outing in the final against Denmark (31:28), where nearly all the fans in the Boris Trajkovski Sports Centre in Skopje cheered for the Asian side.

Three Korean players – right back Lee Hye-won, right wing Cha Seo-yeon and MVP Kim Min-seo made the All-Star team of the competition, highlighting once again the huge potential for Korean handball, which has taken a step backwards in recent years, failing to produce the goods when it needed at senior level.

Denmark's left back Julie Scaglione was the competition's top goal scorer with 62 goals. Hungary completed an excellent summer by winning the bronze medal with a 27:26 win over the Netherlands, after having already delivered a medal in the IHF Women's Junior World Championship one month earlier.

Beach handball returns with stellar tournaments 

A four-year wait was finally over as the IHF Beach Handball World Championship returned in full fledge on the sandy beaches of Heraklion, Greece, in the paradise setting of Crete Island. 32 teams – 16 in the men's and 16 in the women's tournaments – fought for the big prize, with Croatia and Germany emerging as winners.

In the men's tournament, Croatia extended a fantastic streak of medals – six in the last seven editions of the competition – as they won all nine matches they played, dropping only two sets, as Lucian Bura was their top scorer with 164 points. The MVP of the competition also helped his team deliver an excellent game in the final, where they beat Denmark 2-0 (24:22, 21:18) to win the trophy for the first time since 2016. Brazil, the most decorated team in history, secured their eighth medal in a row by winning bronze.

Germany won the women's tournament, taking everybody by surprise after having previously secured only one medal, silver, in 2006. Despite not boasting any player in the top 10 of the top goal scorers, Germany were excellent throughout the tournament, delivering a perfect game without dropping any set. However, the final was a problem in itself, as Spain kept close but could not prevent a loss of 0-2 (14:15, 20:22). The Netherlands clinched the bronze medal.

The second edition of the IHF Youth Beach Handball World Championship also took place in Heraklion, one week before the senior tournaments, with Croatia taking the gold medal in the men's competition after beating Brazil 2-1 in the final, while Spain clinched the title in the women's tournament with a 2-1 win in the final against the Netherlands.

2022 marks a turning point for Wheelchair handball

The COVID-19 pandemic also stopped plans of delivering the first edition of the IHF Four-a-Side Wheelchair Handball World Championship. Still, with the ease of restrictions, the competition proved to be a sure hit in Egypt, with six teams taking up the challenge in the Dr Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in 6 of October, from 22 to 25 September.

Teams from four continents enlisted to participate, and the competition was deemed a huge success, with Brazil taking the laurels after an exciting four days of competition. The South American powerhouse never dropped a set in the group phase, winning against Egypt, Chile, Slovenia, India and the Netherlands, setting up an exciting final against Egypt, the second-placed side in the group.

Buoyed by the excellent support of the fans, Egypt took Brazil to a penalty shootout after the two sides split the first sets, with Brazil taking an 8:3 win in the first one, only to be tied by Egypt's amazing comeback, 7:6. The match went to a shootout, where Brazil used their experience to clinch the gold medal with a 6:3 win.

Slovenia secured the bronze medal with a 2:0 win over Chile in the third-place match, while the Netherlands secured the fifth place, with India, a team making great strides, ending up in sixth place.

Two months later, in November, wheelchair handball added another premiere: The World & European Wheelchair Handball Championship (six-a-side) was organised in Leiria, Portugal, with nine teams from two continents attending.

Hosts Portugal were crowned champions, with the Netherlands securing the silver medal, as the podium was completed by Norway. India finished fourth, while Spain ended up in fifth place.

Handball @ School yields results once again in 2022

Over the past decade, the International Handball Federation (IHF) has put a significant emphasis on developing handball at all levels, even at the youngest of ages, launching a training and education programme for physical education teachers and coaches in schools across all continents in 2011, called Handball at School.

2022 was the year when the Handball @ School programme yielded excellent results in emerging markets like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America or Cape Verde, as the IHF is always trying to develop handball with new approaches and experts sharing their knowledge time and time again.

Sweden, Egypt, Qatar, Brazil and United States of America deliver at continental championships 

With the IHF Men's World Championship coming up in Poland and Sweden in January 2023, it was time for the continental championships to be taking centre stage, and the best teams in the world did not disappoint, with a full calendar being delivered in 2022.

At the EHF EURO 2022, Sweden became the first team in history to win the title five times after their excellent display against Spain in the final (27:26), securing the trophy in the tournament played in Hungary and Slovakia. Reigning world champions, Denmark, secured the bronze medal, their first medal in the competition since 2014, with a win in the third-place match against reigning Olympic champions France (35:32).

For the third time in the last four editions, Egypt secured the continental crown at the CAHB African Men's Handball Championship with a dominating performance underlined by their excellent 37:25 display over Cape Verde in the final, the latter side making their best performance in the competition. Morocco completed the podium of the competition.

Qatar earned their fifth consecutive win in the AHF Asian Men's Handball Championship, taking a 29:24 win over Bahrain in the final played in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, with the hosts sealing the bronze medal, their first in the competition since 2012.

Last but not least, Brazil took the crown in the South and Central American Men's Handball Championship with a 20:17 win against Argentina in the final. The United States of America won their first trophy in the North America and Caribbean Men's Handball Championship with a 33:26 win over Greenland, which sealed safe passage for the USA team to the IHF Men's World Championship.

Powerhouses dominate continental championships

Likewise, the IHF Women's World Championship will take place in Denmark, Norway and Sweden in December 2023, and it was time for the continental championships to deliver their winners.

Norway, the reigning world champions, secured their ninth continental trophy at the EHF EURO 2022, which took place in Slovenia, Montenegro and North Macedonia, with a dominating display, including a superb comeback in the final against Denmark, sealed with a 27:25 win. Montenegro delivered a vintage performance throughout the tournament to clinch bronze. At the same time, Norway's Henny Reistad, the All-Star left back at the 2021 IHF Women's World Championship, was named the MVP of the EHF EURO 2022.

Angola extended their domination at the CAHB African Women's Handball Championship, winning the gold medal for the fourth time in a row and for the 15th time in history with a 29:19 win against Cameroon in the final. Congo were the bronze medallists. 

The Republic of Korea continued their winning streak at the AHF Asian Women's Handball Championship to 35 matches and secured their 16th trophy in 19 editions of the continental competition after surviving a scare in the final against Japan, which they eventually won (34:29) after extra time with a stellar performance from right back Ryu Eun Hee, who scored 19 goals in the final. People's Republic of China were third and secured the bronze medal.

Brazil also became continental champions by taking a 26:19 win over Argentina in the last match of the South and Central American Women's Handball Championship, as Chile secured the bronze medal.