The Maison des Sports in Nevers, France witnessed some French handball history this past weekend as their national wheelchair handball team faced foreign opposition for the first time.

Spain were the visitors to the town in central France for a series of two official and three friendly games played across three days (Friday 12, Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 January), the series of encounters helping both teams – and national federations – continue with their ongoing development in the sport.

A winning start
In their very first set of international action on Friday (12 January) France took a 6:4 win thanks to the saves from Samuel Chandesris and his side followed it up in the second set with an emphatic 8:2 victory, to take a 2-0 win overall.

But Spain, coached by Ricardo Alonso, came back in their second encounter, winning 2-1 on Saturday (13 January) despite losing the first set 7:8 to a French golden goal. The first set loss did not affect them though as they won the second 4:3 to take it to a shoot-out which they won 4:1 to record a 2-1 victory.

Speaking after the official matches had concluded, France coach Fabien Convers was happy with the performance of his side on the international stage.

“It was an opportunity to test new combinations which were more or less successful,” said the coach to FFHandball.

“In the first match, we were successful, but in the second, the physical strength of Spain won. In any case, these two matches allowed us to prepare for the next matches.”

France vice-captain Alexandra Dabek relished the opportunity to test herself and her team at the top level. “It’s a real opportunity for us to be able to compete against another European team,” she explained.

“It’s necessary to be able to measure our level and see where our strengths and weaknesses lie.”

Promoting the sport, developing competitiveness
Towards the end of last year (8 October), members of the team helped celebrate ‘Paralympic Day’ ahead of the hosting of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

In an event organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF) as well as the city of Paris, the famous Place de la République in Paris saw Dabek join fellow French national team Fatih Cuhadar and Frédéric Pasquier as part of a group of nearly 100 athletes to promote the forthcoming Games in the capital city.

A number of past and present indoor, seven-a-side France national handball teams players were also present at the event, including Vincent Gerard, Deborah Lassource and Mariama Signate.

The following month, in November, the team conducted a four-day training camp at the home of the French Handball Federation – the ‘Maison du Handball’ – which included training, theoretical meetings and physiological tests underpinned by support from the ‘FFHandball Research and Performance Unit’.

Following the camp, a complete programme of training and fitness preparation was established for the team.

Results

Friday 12 January
France vs Spain 2-0 (6:4, 8:2)

Saturday 13 January
France vs Spain 1-2 (8:7, 3:4, 1:4)

Photo: FFHandball