Can France win back-to-back Olympic titles on their home court? This will be the question which will headline the women’s competition at Paris 2024, as the hosts embark for the final chapter of Olivier Krumbholz’s story on the bench of “Les Bleuses”.

Huynh Minh Ngon’s Vietnam side qualified for their third, successive IHF World Championship after winning the 2023 AHF Women's Asian Beach Handball Championship on Nusa Dua Beach, South Kuta, Bali, Indonesia last year.

Vietnam defended their title in Bali, winning all six of their matches 2-0, not dropping a set and wrapping an unassailable lead in the round-robin group two days before the end of the competition.

Memories of their gold medal at the 2016 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship in Budapest, Hungary still abound within the Spanish women’s team with a trio of players from the title-winners eight years ago named in Juan Pablo Morillo’s provisional squad in Patricia Conejero, Patricia Encinas and Asuncion Batista.

Despite being a base for club handball on the sand in Europe, thanks to the numerous events held in the coastal town of Nazare – home to some of the biggest waves in the world – Portugal’s senior national sides have not yet made waves on a continental or global level, at least in the medal tables.

After winning four games at their debut continental championship last year, against Hong Kong twice (2-0) and Indonesia twice (2-1, 2-0), Philippines finally secured their spot at an IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship.

Despite being comprehensively beaten by the continental powerhouse Vietnam twice (0-2), with a points difference of -40 (scoring 35 points and conceding 75 in their four sets)

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.