With the 2024 IHF Women’s World Championship throwing-off in the People’s Republic of China on the island of Pingtan later this month, ihf.info takes a look at the last world championship, held two years ago on the island of Crete in Greece – the first IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship since Russia (Kazan) 2018, after Italy (Pescara) 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event: Officially called the 10th edition (after Italy 2020, which was set to be the ninth) of the Women’s Beach Handball World Championship, featuring 16 teams, took place in Heraklion, Greece from 21 to 26 June 2022. 

What was new: The venue itself. The first national and permanent facilities for beach and sand sports in Greece were inaugurated for the event which also saw the 2022 IHF Men’s and Women’s Youth (U18) Beach Handball World Championships take place ahead of the senior championships (from 14 to 19 June).

The 2022 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship was also an opportunity for the top five teams to qualify for the second edition of the ANOC World Beach Games, which was set to take place in Bali, Indonesia the following year, but which was eventually cancelled.

Greece 2022 marked the return of Germany for just the second time in championship history, after their debut in 2006, while Portugal and Netherlands made their debuts.

The championships also saw the launch of ‘International Beach Handball Day’ – 20 June – by a number of legends in attendance.

The competition: Four preliminary groups of four teams saw the top three in each go through to two main round groups of six. The bottom team in each preliminary group dropped into a consolation round.

The top four teams in each main round group then went into the knockout stages, starting with the quarter-finals, then semi-finals and medal matches.

Who won: Germany continued an incredible winning run, winning their first world title.

Review: 16 teams, five continents, 72 games, one winner – who will it be? For 2018 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship gold medallist and reigning champion Magda Kepesidou, it is a feeling she did not want to give up on the home sand.

“It’s been four years since the last World Championships and I still remember how we celebrated, how it felt back then. I will never forget it as long as I play handball,” she told us with her customary, wide smile ahead of the start. “This world title is not a burden for us, it’s like an eternal light.”

The opening day saw Greece start with a win, while Netherlands and Portugal both recorded debut victories in the morning heat. Germany saw off Brazil and then Hungary to confirm their main round spot with one game remaining, while Danish legend Line Gyldenløve Kristensen made her 100th national team appearance.

As the preliminary round action came to an end on day two it was touch and go for Brazil, Hungary and Norway who could have each gone out, but Brazil and Norway did enough to continue as the Hungarians go into the consolation round. With a 8:7 shoot-out win over Vietnam; the USA make it through to the main round for the first time.

Shocks were few and far between in the main round. Germany beat Netherlands 2-0 to end with full points, continuing their winning run and not conceding any sets – against the Dutch it was their sixth, straight 2-0 win.

Argentina then shock Norway with a 8:4 shoot-out victory to book a quarter-final spot where they will face the hosts, while Spain take on Brazil, Portugal face Germany and Denmark take on Netherlands.

All-time leading world championship medallists Brazil were then knocked out by Spain; “these are the things that make this game very spectacular and the things that the spectators love,” said Spain’s Mireia Torras Parera to ihf.info after reaching the semi-finals.

Title-holders Greece did just enough against Argentina and the unbeaten Germans continued their run of not losing a set with their seventh 2:0 win in a row and in the semi-final clash between the 2016 champions Spain and then current 2018 champions Greece on their own sand, Greece simply could not find the net in the second period, losing it 4:17 and crashing out 0-2.

On the final day of action Denmark qualified through to the second edition of the ANOC World Beach Games by beating Brazil 7:6 to secure fifth place and the final direct qualification spot. Brazil had taken the first period 18:14, but the strong Europeans came back hard, winning 20:16 in the second period.

It was heartbreak for the home side in the bronze medal match with the Dutch beating Greece in a shoot-out. After four shots each, perfectly dispatched, Ntafina Dimitri saw hers saved and Meike Kruijer scored the single point to break the home fans' hearts and force the 2018 world champions into fourth.

Ahead of the final Spanish pivot Maria Asuncion Batista Portero told us she was looking to rekindle passion and emotion from their 2016 world title. “We did it one time, why not another one?,” she says, while on the other side, Germany coach Alexander Novakovic told us that the “...biggest handball federation in the world is back in the beach handball category and we are really, really proud and very honoured to play in a World Championship final.”

That final saw Germany take a 2-0 (15:14, 22:20), double golden goal win against Spain to become the first-ever team to win an IHF Beach Handball World Championship without dropping a set. That meant they were now European and World champions, unbeaten in both championships with 18 games won in less than a year.

“It’s party time; we’re celebrating. Nothing can stop us,” said Germany’s Isabel Kattner after the gold medal match. “Unbelievable, I can’t find the words. Last year I said it’s a wonder, this year…I can't understand, I can’t find words for it. It's crazy. It's crazy."

2022 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship - Greece
MVP: Asuncion Batista, Spain
Top scorer: Christine Mansour, USA – 164 points
Fair Play Award: Hungary

All-Star Team:

Best goalkeeper: Patricia Encinas Guardado, Spain
Best left wing: Ntafina Dimitri, Greece
Best right wing: Amelie Möllmann, Germany
Best specialist: Lucila Candela Balsas, Argentina
Best pivot: Asuncion Batista, Spain
Best defender: Rianne Mol, Netherlands

Final Ranking:
1 Germany
2 Spain
3 Netherlands
4 Greece
5 Denmark
6 Brazil
7 Argentina
8 Portugal
9 Hungary
10 Thailand
11 Norway
12 Uruguay
13 Vietnam
14 United States of America
15 Mexico
16 Australia

What happened next: In addition to various national, regional and continental competitions for the players, The World Games 2022 took place in Birmingham, Alabama, USA in July.