Overview:

Brazil:

The gold medallists of the 2013 World Games held in Cali, Colombia, are ready to defend the title. In the 2013 World Games final match Brazil beat Hungary after the shoot-out 2:1 (14:8, 10:11, 6:3). Both the women’s and men’s team returned to Brazil with a gold medal.

The Brazil women’s team confirmed their dominance at the 2014 World Championship when they won the final match against Hungary 2:0. Brazil’s Camila Souza was awarded Most Valuable Player.

Last year, they could not overcome the Spanish team, however, and finished the 2016 World Championship as runners-up. They lost the gold medal match 1:2 (18:8, 12:16, 4:7).

Chinese Taipei:

While they did not reach the knock-out phase in 2009, Chinese Taipei had to admit defeat against Norway only in the bronze medal match in 2013 and finished the tournament in fourth position.

They are attending the 2017 World Games with a significantly rejuvenated team, with one player being a high school student and three of the players have just came back from the U17 Beach Handball World’s Championships in Mauritius where they ranked 8th. The senior women's team from Chinese Taipei won the bronze medal at the Asian Championships 2017 held in Pattaya, Thailand.

“It is definitely an advantage for our team. The senior players already have enough experience and they can pass the knowledge to our younger players,” explains Hsin-Yi Tsai, the team manager, and continues: “For the World Games 2017, I really hope we will earn a medal. We respect every team and for now, we focus only on our group, we take it step by step. Brazilians have a high level of the game, but I think our chances against Poland and Australia are pretty good.”

Australia:

Australia women’s team, also known as the ‘Aussie Beach Gliders’ had their World Games debut in 2013 finishing seventh.

They ranked 8th at the 2012 and 2016 World Championships and 12th at the 2014 World Championship. They won the 2013 and 2016 Oceania Championship by beating New Zealand 2:0.

Their preparation for the 2017 World Games has started after the World Championship in Budapest last year. It included monthly training camps held in Sydney and Melbourne.

Poland:

Poland women’s team ranked 10th at both 2014 and 2016 World Championships.

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