The second of three days of the ‘IHF Beach Handball Showcase’ in Paris was played out in spectacular sunshine on Sunday (28 July) as the world’s best players graced the event taking place on the sidelines of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the French capital.

Six All-star Teams made up of athletes from 17 different countries and coached by pairings of the world’s best coaches, are participating, joined by the France men’s and women’s national teams.

Distinguished guests in attendance

The middle day of the showcase saw a number of distinguished guests and VIPs in attendance as part of an official gala, personally invited by IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa.

Dr Moustafa was joined by World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue, Fédération Internationale de Hockey Executive Board Member Alberto Budeisky, representatives of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne and the presidents of numerous handball federations across the world, including Germany, Croatia, Egypt, Qatar, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Italy and the host nation France, represented by Bertrand Gille.

Vela continue perfect streak in women’s competition

On the sand, Team Vela, coached by Greece women’s coach Maria Karantoni and Croatia’s men’s coach Mladen Paradzik, continued their perfect streak, winning both of their games on Saturday, to make it four wins out of four.

They beat Team Lyra 2-1 (19:20, 24:16, SO 14:12) with Hungary’s Renata Csiki leading the scoring with 16 points, and followed it up in the evening session with a 2-0 (28:14, 21:18) victory over Team Hydra thanks to Brazil’s Patricia Scheppa’s 16 points.

Both Hydra and Lyra did get positive results on Saturday though, with wins over France. Team Hydra won 2-1 (20:23, 32:20, SO 6:2) as Isabel Kattner top-scored with 20 points. Team Lyra also won via shoot-out, 2-1 (20:16, 27:26) as Nathalie Sena grabbed 15 points.

“⁠As a Mediterranean citizen the sun is always perfect and especially for Beach Handball,” said Team Vela’s goalkeeper Magdalina Kepesidou to IHF.info about taking two wins from two games on Sunday. 

“That’s why today was the perfect day so far for me, plus both in defence and attack, everyone showed their full potential and it was absolutely amazing.”

Kepesidou, who won the 2018 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship title with Greece, also gave an insight into fitting into an All-star Team and what has impressed her so far.

“Ahead of the showcase we had some meetings discussing the way we are going to play, who will be the captain and we decided together how we will shout our team’s name before the games,” she explained. “Generally, we created a perfect atmosphere between us both inside and outside the court.

“I was dizzy seeing Ebiye’s (Jeremy – USA men’s player) in the shoot-out with three spins in a row and how he managed to score after doing it.”

Pegasus secure two wins from two in men’s competition

Argentina’s Nahuel Perez had a monster day for Team Pegasus, scoring 44 points in two games. He started with 24 in the 2-0 (30:26, 24:22) win over France and followed it up later in the day with 20 against Team Aquila in a 2-1 (20:18, 24:25, SO 9:6) victory.

“Today was a very intense day; we achieved two victories and the games have been very competitive,” said Perez’s Team Pegasus teammate and Brazil international, Bruno de Oliveira.

“The arrival of the sun brought the joy that our sport presents. Without the rain, the contact with the ball improves and we can see that the athletes are able to get the best out of it technically. In addition, the sun also attracted the public who were present with great enthusiasm.

“This experience is incredible and will remain in my memory forever,” added the player, who scored 21 points in total on Saturday. 

“What made me happiest on this day was seeing how our sport is at a high technical, tactical and physical level. The games are faster without losing precision. There was no shortage of spectacular plays from all the teams. Participating in these moments with great athletes who are also good people is inexplicable. Living this is a privilege.”

The other games on Saturday saw Team Aquila beat Team Draco 2-0 (25:18, 20:18) and France hand Draco their second defeat of the day, winning 2-0 (29:20, 24:18).

“The first day was a little bit rainy and bad weather, so we were not satisfied with our performances,” explained Croatia captain and Team Pegasus player Ivan Juric to ihf.info. “But today was great weather; sunny and dry and we really enjoyed playing our matches.

“We had the IHF President, the President of our federation (Croatia) and other important people come to watch our matches so we were eager to show the best of us, our ‘A’ game, and I think we managed to do that.

“I am enjoying the level, physically. Yes, it is a little bit demanding, but I expected this from this level because it includes all the top players from across the world. It has been cool to see the Beach Handball players competing at their top level, trying hard and giving 100% of himself or herself.

“Some of us have also managed to watch some of the indoor handball games at Paris 2024,” he added. “I Denmark vs France and it was the best game to attend – the level was so high; it was like ‘the final before the final’.

The showcase, being held at the French Handball Federation’s ‘House of Handball’ in Créteil, highlights the spectacular sport of Beach Handball and its culture on the fringes of the Game and is part of a wider series of celebrations based in the Val-de-Marne region of France.

For the duration of the Olympic Games – July 26 to August 11 – a variety of free events will take place, including a fan zone for up to 2,000 people featuring live broadcasts, exhibitions, food, drink and concerts. 

To see the full teams and coaches, visit HERE.

All games are being streamed live and free on the IHF YouTube Competitions Channel.

IHF Beach Handball Showcase

Day 2 Results – Sunday 28 July

Women’s Competition
Team Vela vs Team Lyra 2-1 (19:20, 24:16, SO 14:12)
Team Hydra vs France 2-1 (20:23, 32:20, SO 6:2)
Team Vela vs Team Hydra 2-0 (28:14, 21:18)
Team Lyra vs France 2-1 (20:16, 27:26)

Men’s Competition 
Team Aquila vs Team Draco 2-0 (25:18, 20:18)
Team Pegasus vs France 2-0 (30:26, 24:22)
Team Aquila vs Team Pegasus 1-2 (18:20, 25:24, SO 6:9)
Team Draco vs France 0-2 (20:29, 18:24)

Day 3 Schedule – Monday 29 July

Women’s Competition
1100 Team Hydra vs Team Lyra
1300 Team Vela vs France
1500 Team Vela vs Team Lyra
1700 Team Hydra vs France

Men’s Competition
1200 Team Pegasus vs Team Draco
1400 Team Aquila vs France
1600 Team Aquila vs Team Draco
1800 Team Pegasus vs France

The IHF Beach Handball Showcase is a collaborative effort between the International Handball Federation (IHF), Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (COJOP2024), French Handball Federation (FFHB) and International Olympic Committee (IOC).