With a generation which boasted future senior world champions like Lena Grandveau and Sarah Bouktit, France finished 13th at the 2022 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship.

It was a one-goal loss against Montenegro in the main round which derailed their campaign back then, but as per France’s blueprint of developing players, it was only about seeing how these players act in tough situations and try to improve decision making when presented with a problem.

However, two years later, France – led by the MVP of the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, Lylou Borg – secured their maiden title in the competition and only the second medal, after the silver in 2012, with players like Laura Glauser, Coralie Lassource, Pauline Coatanea or Grace Zaadi in the squad.

And now, at China 2026, France are one step away from a medal, after making it to the semi-finals, after a big win, 33:23, against Montenegro in the quarter-finals, where all but two outfield players scored at least one goal.

While France really pride on team spirit and all players contributing, in this match one player was above all in terms of goal scoring, and it was right wing Dawiya Abdou, who scored eight times, taking her overall tally in the competition to 31 goals.

Abdou has scored with all but seven of her shots at the 2026 IHF Women’s World Championship, for an impressive 82% shooting efficiency, which just confirms her penchant for scoring and her immense talent, after being named the All-Star right wing of the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, which also took place in the People’s Republic of China.

 

“We are very happy to be in the semi-finals. Last year we lost to Austria in the quarter-finals at the European championship, so it was important for us to get through the semi-finals. I hope we will win the semi-finals and go to the finals,” said Abdou after the 33:23 win against Montenegro.

Abdou was born in Combani, Mayotte, in the Tsingoni district, in one of the overseas departments and regions of France, 8000 kilometres away from Paris. She started playing handball, under the supervision of her father, when she was only five years old, and then moved to France when she was 10 years old.

She is part of a contingent which includes more and more players born overseas, who are moving to France and continuing playing handball in the country, such as Suzanne Wajoka, another wing, who was born in New Caledonia and made her debut in a major international competition at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, winning the bronze medal.

“I watched my mother play and I wanted to be as good as her. I worked until I got there. I hope to continue and to become better and better, because this is the goal, of course, to play in the senior national team,” adds Abdou.

The 20-year-old right wing has been developing and is definitely earmarked as one of the players with a huge potential, who can sooner rather than later make the step to the senior team.

One of these players has been Nina Dury, the left wing and the captain of the France women’s junior national team which became world champion in 2024 and then went on and was in the starting line-up at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship.

 

“One of our strengths is the cohesion of the group. This group is amazing, we are always fighting for each other, trying to be better, trying to help, especially in defence and I hope we can show this in the next matches too,” says Abdou.

The 20-year-old wing is one of the most experienced players in the roster, as she signed a contract with Chambray Touraine HB, extending it this spring for two years. In this season of the French league, Abdou scored 65 goals, adding 14 more in the EHF European League Women, as Chambray was not shying away of using her in crucial matches.

That can also be seen here, at China 2026, with Abdou being a safe pair of hands, where she has missed only one shot from positional play from the wing, scoring 12 goals out of 13 shots, for a 92% shooting efficiency, the second best of the wings in the competition.

She also converted eight of the nine fast breaks she had, a crucial part of France’s success, with the European side winning all the six matches played so far. In total, France had 43 fast breaks, the second largest number in the competition.

And Abdou, whose idol is France right wing Lucie Granier, hopes to give even more in the match against Germany.

“We want back-to-back gold medals at the Junior World Championship,” concludes the right wing, who aims for a performance last accomplished by Russia in 2003 and 2005.