Norway come to China 2024 keen to put behind them their worst-ever ranking in their last world championship appearance on the Greek sand of Heraklion in 2022, when they finished 11th.

“We are facing a serious challenge,” said Netherlands coach Peter Portengen about what he expects at China 2024 where his side will face Norway, Denmark and the USA in their preliminary group.

But with a bronze medal at their debut world championship in 2022, silver at the 2023 European Championship and becoming one of just a few teams to beat Germany in a two-year period, on their way to fifth at the European Games in Poland a few weeks later, maybe the Dutch are the ‘serious challenge’?

With two appearances including one title and one fourth place, Greece have quite an impressive history already in the IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship.

Their debut appearance at Russia 2018 in Kazan saw coach Maria Karantoni guide her players – led by the inspirational Magda Kepesidou in goal – to gold, with nearly all their games going to shoot-outs.

Quite simply, Germany are the team to beat in China if any of the other 15 national sides want to have a chance of winning the 2024 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship title.

With two medals from their two previous IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship appearances – 16 years apart – the current title-holders have cemented themselves already in the history of the sport.

Denmark come to China 2024 as current ANOC World Beach Games (after beating Hungary in the 2019 final) and European Games champions from last summer. And with a fifth-place result at the 2022 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championships in Greece last time out, they will be fighting for medals again.

Despite those successes, their most recent big event, the 2023 European Championships in Portugal was a disappointment – their 7/8 placement match win over Croatia ensuring qualification for China.

The Aussie women return for their sixth, consecutive IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship after qualifying way back in April 2023 at the Oceania Beach Handball Championships.

They secured their ticket by beating their neighbouring rivals in the final held on the Gold Coast’s Coolangatta Beach for the first time since the lifting of the then Covid-related travel restrictions.

The People's Republic of China return to IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship action after a 12-year gap which has seen Vietnam emerge as Asia’s deadliest threat on the global, women’s stage.

On a continental level, China have not competed since they won the seventh edition of the AHF Women’s Beach Handball Asian Championship on home sand in Weihai five years ago in June 2019.