The fourth edition of the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour (BHGT) threw-off today, with day one of the two-day Stage 1 wrapped up in Hammamet, Tunisia.

World champions Croatia show their pedigree on North African sand

A combined 22 points from 2025 IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship All-star Team members Ivan Dumencic and Lucian Bura helped Croatia to a comfortable first set (27:18) victory over Egypt in the opening game of the men’s competition in Tunisia on Friday (13 June).

The second set saw the Egyptians more competitive, but Croatia ensured a 16:14 victory with captain Ivan Juric scoring the decisive two points to take a 2-0 victory for The World Games title-holders who have some new faces in their squad, including Anteo Balic and Domagoj Kulis.

In the second game of the day, host nation Tunisia were undone by a strong performance from Spain, with Gonzalo Perez de Vargas top-scoring with 14 points to ease his side to a 2-0 (22:16, 21:17) victory.

The afternoon/evening session saw the two European heavyweights go toe-toe and it did not disappoint with both teams taking a set 26:22 each.

A shoot-out was inevitable maybe and after it went to a second round, all the pressure was on Daniel Serano Rodriguez to score in sudden death, after Juric had put his side 14:12 ahead, but the onrushing Stipe Malencic in the Croatian goal made himself big and blocked the Spanish shot to take the victory.

“It feels good winning, and it is a great start for the tournament. We’re looking forward to tomorrow’s games, hoping to end the tournament with two more wins,” said Croatia’s Domagoj Kulis to ihf.info, who made his senior national team debut in Tunisia

“Spain is a great national team and it was a physically challenging and long game that ended in our favour after a long shoot-out. We made some mistakes in the first set, but stuck to our plan in the second and managed to turn it around.

“It’s a big honour to play with the senior team, especially on a global level. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s games and hopefully many more tournaments with the national team.

“It’s amazing to play on a new continent – Africa has huge beach handball potential. The organisers here have been really good and very welcoming.”

With both North African sides losing their early games, it was crucial for both teams to get a win under their belts when they met in the evening game if they were to stand any chance of making it into the final on Saturday.

A nervy first set saw Tunisia emerge victorious (12:10), but a much clearer second (22:14), ensured a chance to make the gold medal match – Ahmed Sfar top-scored on 16 points for Tunisia, while Omar Hassan’s 10 points made him Egypt’s top-scorer.

Spain dominate opening day in women’s competition

2016 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship winners Spain ended the opening day with two 2-0 wins from two games, impressing as they saw off Tunisia first (21:16, 24:8) and then Greece (21:20, 20:14). 

Asun Batista did not end up as the top-scorer after the first day for Spain – her 22 points in two games, was beaten by Sara Hernandez, with 24 points.

It was mixed day for Greece and Croatia, who both won and lost one each. The two countries threw-off the women’s competition with an exciting game full of intrigue. Croatia were completely outplayed in the first set, losing 28:8, but fought back in the second (16:12) to take it to a shoot-out.

With misses from both teams in the first round, it went to sudden death. Croatia’s Petra Dicak went first and when she failed to hit the back of the net, it was down to Eleni Mournou to sink home the single-pointer for victory.

However, the tables would turn for the teams in the afternoon session, with Greece losing to Spain and then Croatia fighting back to see of Tunisia 2-0 (21:20, 19:12), handing the host nation a disappointing start on home sand with two losses in their two games.

All matches from Hammamet will be streamed live on the IHF Competitions YouTube channel.

2025 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour – Stage 1: Hammamet, Tunisia

Results

Friday 13 June

Preliminary round – Men
Egypt vs Croatia 0-2 (18:27, 14:16)
Spain vs Tunisia 2-0 (22:16, 21:17)
Croatia vs Spain 2-1 (22:26, 26:22, SO 14:12)
Tunisia vs Egypt 2-0 (12:10, 22:14)

Preliminary round – Women
Croatia vs Greece 1-2 (8:28, 16:12, SO 8:9)
Tunisia vs Spain 0-2 (16:21, 8:24)
Greece vs Spain 0-2 (20:21, 14:20)
Croatia vs Tunisia 2-0 (21:20, 19:12)

Match Schedule
(all times local)

Saturday 14 June

Preliminary round – Men
11:40 Spain vs Egypt
12:30 Tunisia vs Croatia

Preliminary round – Women
10:00 Spain vs Croatia
10:50 Tunisia vs Greece

Finals – Men
16:50 Bronze medal match
18:30 Final

Finals – Women
16:00 Bronze medal match
17:40 Final

About the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour

The IHF Beach Handball Global Tour was launched at the 2022 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships in Greece and debuted in Gdansk, Poland with Croatia winning the men’s tournament and Spain taking the top spot in the women’s tournament. Four teams – Croatia, Germany, Poland and Spain – participated in both the men’s and women’s competitions.

The 2023 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour consisted of four stages, visiting Brazil, Tunisia and Poland before the Finals Stage was held in Doha, Qatar. Qatar’s men and Brazil’s women took the titles.

In 2024, the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour featured three stages, including Brazil, Spain, and then the Finals Stage again in Qatar. Brazil’s men and women won their respective titles.

This year, 2025 sees three stages, starting with Hammamet, Tunisia (13 to 15 June) before moving on to Laredo, Spain from 29 to 30 July. The Finals Stage is due to be played between 7 and 9 November, in João Pessoa, Brazil.

Credit photo: Federation Tunisienne de Handball