November will see the 2026 Youth Olympic Games take place in Dakar, Senegal. The global event features beach handball and IHF.info looks back to what happened at the last edition, held eight years ago in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The event: The third edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games, under the slogan ‘Feel the Future’, took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 6 to 19 October 2018 and featured boys and girls beach handball competitions at Parque Sarmiento from 8 to 13 October. 

What was new: Everything. Buenos Aires 2018 was the first time beach handball was included at an Olympic Games after replacing indoor handball, which had been present at the debut Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010 (Singapore) and second edition at Nanjing (PR China) in 2014.

The competition: 12 men’s teams were split into two preliminary groups of six teams each. After each team had played each other in their respective group, the top three in each group went through to a main round group of six while the bottom three teams in each preliminary group dropped into a consolation round.

The top four teams in the main round group qualified directly through to the semi-finals and subsequent medal matches, while the remaining two teams in the main round and those in the consolation round played in the 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12 placement round games.

In total, 56 games were played on three courts across six matchdays.

Who won: Spain’s men team defeated neighbours Portugal in the final 9:6 via shoot-out. As the men’s final was played before the women’s final, Spain became the first-ever Olympic Games gold medallists in beach handball.

Review: Two months before the start of Buenos Aires 2018, IHF Beach Handball Working Group Chairman Giampiero Masi was at the Argentine Olympic Committee headquarters in Buenos Aires to conduct the draw for both the men’s and women’s beach handball competitions.

“We are all very excited at the IHF to show how attractive beach handball is on a global scale and I'm sure the participants will experience the very best conditions in Buenos Aires for showing their very best,” said Masi after the draw which saw Hungary, Spain, Thailand, Venezuela, Chinese Taipei and Uruguay drawn into preliminary group A and Argentina, Croatia, Portugal, Italy, Mauritius and Paraguay drawn into group B.

As the then current U17 world and European champions, Spain entered Buenos Aires 2018 as one of the leading favourites to win the men’s gold medal and, 56 games later so it proved to be true. Host nation Argentina – continental silver medallists and bronze world championship medallists – would be one of their toughest opponents, along with the U16 Men’s EHF EURO silver medallists, Portugal.

After the 30 games of the preliminary group stage, Hungary and Argentina topped their respective groups with five wins out of five each, sealing their passages through to the main round, along with Spain and Thailand in group A and Croatia and Portugal in group B.

The opening day of action had seen 12 matches across two sessions with the host nation winning both of their games and Spain suffering a close shave against Thailand, winning a shoot-out 10:8, Spain’s goalkeeper Guillermo Garcia-Cabanas Carques later revealing to IHF.info that “…it was a bit scary.”

Italy ended the first day impressively, winning both of their games and ending with the best defence and attack, while Argentina also took two wins, games watched by the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games ‘Athlete Role Models’ – Brazilian beach legend Gil Pires and the legendary all-rounder Andrea Lekic.

Day two saw Argentina extend their perfect run to four wins out of four, just like Hungary, who beat Spain via shoot-out to confirm their main round place. Portugal beat Italy to end the day on the same points (four) with both teams playing their fifth and final preliminary group game knowing nothing less than a win would do. 

The third and final preliminary group round of games saw Argentina and Hungary make it five wins out of five in their respective groups, with Argentina beating the U17 world championship silver medallists Italy 14:12 in a shoot-out to send them out of medal contention and confirm Portugal’s progression, no matter their result. Thailand, Spain and Croatia also confirmed their main round spots.

Results meant that Paraguay, Mauritius, Italy, Uruguay, Chinese Taipei and Venezuela all dropped into the consolation round.

A cold and wet Sarmiento Park welcomed day four of action and the first in the main round, with Argentina and Hungary losing each of their two games – their first defeats of the event – this was in direct contrast to Portugal, who entered the main round with zero points but ended the first day with four points from two wins, putting them into semi-final contention.

Just like Spain on the opening day, Argentina were made to sweat by Thailand in a shoot-out with an incredible third round of shots needed to determine a winner, which was the Asian side, 26:24. In wet and cold - averaging around 14 degrees - conditions, the home fans were out in force as usual, creating another memorable atmosphere with queues around Sarmiento Park and the 'full-house' signs going up.

Unfortunately for the Thai side a disappointing defeat on court two against Portugal later put paid to their best chance of going through to the semi-final places, as the European side made it two wins out of two on the day, after their impressive 2:0 win over Hungary to start the day.

Spain had beaten Croatia in their first match comfortably, but the Croatians managed to keep themselves in contention, defeating Hungary in their second match clearly.

By the end of the second and final main round day, mathematicians were needed to decide the two remaining semi-finalists from Portugal, Croatia, Thailand and Hungary who were all on four points each by the end of the round. While Spain and Argentina were clear, the two places eventually went to Portugal and Croatia thanks to a mini-league which saw Thailand end in fifth and Hungary in last.

This meant Argentina and Portugal would face off in the first semi-final and Spain would take on Croatia in the second, both of which would be held in the morning session of the sixth and final day of competition in Buenos Aires, ahead of the medal matches in the afternoon/evening session.

“Twenty-five years ago, we started with this sport and now we are here for the first time in the Youth Olympic Games,” said Giampiero Masi to IHF.info ahead of the final day.

“I could never imagine this situation for the semi-finals. Fans are here two, three hours before and are queuing out of the court. I have to be happy, and this happiness gives me a lot of motivation for the future of our sport.”

The day got off to the worst possible start for the host nation, whose fans had started queuing for two hours before its 0930 start. Their semi-final against Portugal was a repeat of their second matchday clash when the Europeans were seen off clearly in a 14:8 shoot-out, but it was not to be when it mattered as Portugal took a 2-1 (18:20, 22:16, SO 9:8) victory.

"I feel out of myself, we came here to play for the medals and it’s an amazing feel to be in the final," said Portugal goalkeeper Joao Goncalves to IHF.info. "Now we’re going to go to the final and we’re going for gold obviously – there’s no other way."

The second semi-final also saw another Buenos Aires re-match as Spain beat Croatia again, after their first victory (2:0) in the main round. This time it was much closer as Spain took the shoot-out 7:6, after Croatia were penalised for Ivan Palac stepping on the line as he prepared to shoot. Earlier on, Marko Maruncic had received a red card for Croatia following two suspensions, but his team rallied and nearly knocked the world champions off of their perch.

With a brief rest between sessions, the host nation bounced back after their disappointing loss in the semi-finals, to beat Croatia 2:0 (17:14, 20:18) and win bronze thanks to 15 points from Nahuel Baptista, who finished as the men's top scorer (152 points) - his solitary point at the end of the first set was enough to ensure Croatia could not come back, while his two points right at the end of the second set took bronze.

Spain showed why they were champions as they added the title of Olympic champions to their already-packed medal cabinet defeating Portugal in a shoot-out 9:6. In a repeat of their main round match, Spain won with pure emotion after a tense shoot-out which saw Miguel Neves’ shot for Portugal bounce up and down in the goal, but not hit the back of the net.

At this point Spain led in the shoot-out 4:2 and it was left to a single point shot from Sergio Perez Manzanares to put his side three points up, and with just one shot remaining, Portugal could not come back.

In the first set of the match, Spain were dominant, but it the table turned in the second period as Portugal kept their chances alive. A 53% shot rate from Portugal, compared to a 70% shots-to-save ratio from Spain highlighted one of the main differences between the teams, but eight saves from Spain's goalkeeper Pedro Rodriguez Serrano tells its own story. 

“It’s incredible, it’s unbelievable, we’ve been working with the younger generation since 2013, you know when you have a dream and the dream comes true? Now I feel the sensation,” said Spain coach Pedro Bago Rascon to IHF.info after the end of the game. “All the time we have been working, all the days without my family, my children and my wife and now we have this gold medal. I don’t know what this means, I am only thinking about my wife, my children – I need time to understand it.” 

For 2018 Youth Olympic Games men’s beach handball quotes, statistics, photos, match reviews and a whole lot more, visit the mini-site HERE.

Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games Beach Handball - Men

Final Ranking
1 Spain (Gold)
2 Portugal (Silver)
3 Argentina (Bronze)
4 Croatia
5 Hungary
6 Thailand
7 Venezuela
8 Italy
9 Chinese Taipei
10 Uruguay
11 Paraguay
12 Mauritius

What happened next: Many of the players graduated to their senior teams, taking part in the subsequent 2019 ANOC World Beach Games as well as subsequent continental and global events.