The Australian men return to IHF Beach Handball World Championship action after losing their qualification spot to New Zealand last time out, for Greece 2022.

And they have had to wait over a year for the chance after qualifying way back in April 2023 at the 2023 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 make their debut at an IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship after qualifying directly as hosts.

Relatively unknown on the international stage, China’s men have appeared in just one AHF Men’s Beach Handball Asian Championships, which took place last year.

In the continental event held in Bali, Indonesia, they opened up their campaign with a loss against the host nation via shoot-out (22:24, 20:17, SO 6:7) before picking up themselves to record a 2-0 (18:14, 21:14) victory over Hong Kong.