Over 1,000 participants from 34 countries competed in four sports on the Brazilian sand as the first-ever 'FISU Beach Sports World University Champions' took place in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 8 September.

Beach Handball was included alongside Beach Volleyball, Beach Soccer and Beach Wrestling on the famous Botafogo beach with the host nation taking both the men's and women's Beach Handball titles.

The women's competition featured five teams and 14 games, including Brazil (BRA), Poland (POL), Uruguay (URU), Argentina (ARG) and Chile (CHI), while the men's competition featured four of the same teams, with the exception of Poland, played across 10 games.

After three days of preliminary round action, the top four in each group went through to semi-final action after a rest day. At the end of the women's preliminary round, Brazil topped the group, followed by Poland, Uruguay and Argentina, while Chile finished fifth and missed out on a semi-final spot.

The men's competition saw the same order of teams after the preliminary round - with the exception of Poland - as Brazil finished in first place, followed by Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.

On their way to winning gold, Brazil's women won all six of their games 2-0 without dropping a set, including a 2-0 (24:18, 16:14) semi-final victory over Argentina and 2-0 (23:14, 22:15) gold medal win over the sole European side, Poland.

The Polish team had overcome Uruguay via shoot-out in the semi-final 2-1 (16:18, 13:10, SO 7:4), but the South American side overcame their disappointment to defeat Uruguay 6:5 in a shoot-out after Argentina's fifth strike was deemed to be a single-point.

Brazil's men also won all their games on the way to gold, but they were sent to a shoot-out twice in their five matches. Firstly, against Uruguay in the preliminary round, which saw them win an epic contest 2-1 after a 16:14 shoot-out, and then in the final, against the Uruguayans again, this time the shoot-out was secured 9:6.

Chile, who Brazil had beaten in the semi-final, came back against Argentina in the bronze medal match to win 2-0 after a tight second set victory (25:24).

2024 FISU World University Championship Beach Sports

Beach Handball - Rankings

Men's Competition
1. Brazil
2. Uruguay
3. Chile
4. Argentina

Women's Competition
1. Brazil
2. Poland
3. Uruguay
4. Argentina
5. Chile

Beach Handball - Results

Women's Competition

Preliminary Round
POL-CHI 2-0 (28:4, 22:16)
URU-ARG 2-0 (16:14, 12:8)
CHI-BRA 0-2 (9:24, 10:28)
ARG-POL 0-2 (18:28, 16:18)
BRA-URU 2-0 (13:12, 15:12)
ARG-CHI 2-0 (20:14, 18:12)
URU-POL 0-2 (8:20, 14:20)
BRA-ARG 2-0(20:12, 26:10)
CHI-URU 0-2 (18:20, 10:14)
POL-BRA 0-2 (14:20, 10:26)

Semi-Finals
BRA vs ARG 2-0 (24:18, 16:14)
POL vs URU 2-1 (16:18, 13:10, SO 7:4)

Bronze
ARG vs URU 1-2 (12:22, 14:8, SO 5:6)

Gold/Final BRA vs POL 2-0 (23:14, 22:15)

Men's Competition

Preliminary Round
BRA-CHI 2-0 (17:12, 22:18)
ARG-URU 0-2 (14:15, 22:24)
URU-BRA 1-2 (12:16, 16:14, SO 14:16)
CHI-ARG 0-2 (26:28, 12:17)
BRA-ARG 2-0 (15:14, 22:16)
URU-CHI 2-1 (24:26, 19:18, SO 7:6)

Semi-Finals
BRA vs CHI 2-0 (22:14, 16:12)
URU vs ARG 2-0 (28:15, 19:18)

Bronze
CHI vs ARG 2-0 (24:16, 25:24)

Gold/Final
BRA vs URU 2-1 (19:14, 10:15, SO 9:6)

The FISU (Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire, or 'International University Sports Federation') was founded in 1949 and aims to '.expand the role and reach of university sport around the world', according to its website.

To read more about the 2024 FISU World University Championship Beach Sports, click HERE.

To watch games on demand, visit the FISU YouTube Channel HERE. 

Photo credit: FISU BEACH SPORTS - Photo: Matheus Sanches