Overview:

Brazil:

Just like the women’s team, the men’s team will also be defending the title the claimed at the 2013 World Games held in Cali, Colombia. In the finals, Brazil defeated Russia 2:0 (26:16, 27:26). However, Brazil’s biggest rivals from Cali are not participating in this year’s World Games edition.

Brazil also won the 2009 World Games, where Beach Handball was contested as a demonstration event. In the gold medal match, the Brazilian team met Hungary and beat them 2:0.

Last year, Brazil men’s team claimed the silver medal at the 2016 World Championship in Budapest, Hungary. In the final, they were beat by Croatia 0:2 (15:19, 18:21)

Qatar:

Qatar won the bronze medal at last year’s World Championship, together with the top scorer award for Anis Zouaoui with 126 points. In the tight bronze medal match, Qatar defeated Hungary 2:1 (14:15, 20:14, 7:6). They defended the bronze medal they claimed at the 2014 World Championship, when they beat Denmark 2:1.

At the 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia, they had to admit defeat against Croatia in the bronze medal match, losing 2:1 (19:10, 8:14, 7:4).

Uruguay:

Apart from the 2010 event, Uruguay men’s team attended every World Championship since 2008. They were ranked 9th in 2008 and 2014, 11th in 2012 and 10th last year. In 2016, they claimed silver at the Pan American Championships held in Vargas, Venezuela, where they lost 2:1 against the United States.

The 2017 World Games will be a big premiere for the Uruguay team. “We have never started with the preparation because we have never stopped. Half of the team is rejuvenated and I see that as a great advantage. The senior players have lot of experience and the young players have more energy,” says team coach Gaston Pedro Balleto Martinez. “Brazil and Croatia will be a tough rivals, but we definitely want to win. And since this is our first World Games tournament, we also want to enjoy it as much as we can.”

Australia:

Both the women’s and men’s representatives of Oceania have competed in every World Championship and World Games since 2010. At the 2010 and 2012 World Championships, Australia men’s team ranked 12th. In 2014, they improved to 11th place and fell back to the 12th place last year at the 2016 World Championship. The team also participated in the 2013 World Games in Cali, but could not earn a single point.

Their preparation has been ongoing since the World Championship in Budapest and included monthly training camps held in Sydney and Melbourne. “Our goal for the tournament performance-wise is to finish in the top five nations, and considering the quality of talent there that will be a huge achievement. However, we know that from where we are coming from compared to the other nations, our success won’t purely be measured on positioning – we really just want to show that we have fully committed and strong beach handball team both on and off the court,” says coach Patrik Weiss.

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