Netherlands and Hungary seal titles at the YAC16 Beach Handball EURO 2024

• the Netherlands delivered a flawless performance against France in a crunch final in the women’s competition, taking both sets by a big margin, 28:20 and 19:14
• Croatia dominated the bronze medal match, taking a 2:0 win over reigning champions Hungary, after conceding a loss in the semi-final against France
• Spain’s Carlota Bravo García had 199 points, the top scorer in the women’s competition, with Croatia’s Helena Furcic (124 points) and Germany’s Mia Herr and Ukraine's Karyna Ivanova (both with 119 points) following in the standings
• dramatic final in the men’s competition saw Hungary erase a one-set deficit to mount a comeback and take a 15:14 win in the penalty shoot-out
• after conceding a 0:2 loss in the semi-finals against Spain, Germany bounced back and secured the bronze medal with a 2:0 win (32:26; 27:20) over Croatia
• Czechia’s Matouš Khek was the top scorer of the competition with 218 points. Interestingly, he's the son of Petra Cumplova-Khekhova, who was included into the EHF Hall of Fame last year. She was also present in Varna during this tournament. Khek was followed by Sweden’s Hannes Carlsson with 155 points and Spain’s Jesus Sanchez de la Nieta Garcia, with 150 points

Fantastic finals in Varna

Four days in Varna, Bulgaria, yielded two new champions in the European beach handball circuit, with Hungary retaining the title in the men’s competition, while the Netherlands secured the gold in the women’s competition.

The men’s competition saw a dramatic final, with 20 penalties shot, as Hungary eventually secured a 15:14 win, after conceding the first set. Marko Forgacs converted two penalties, including the winning one, to help his side clinch back-to-back titles.

In the women’s competition, Netherlands won all their eight matches, including the dramatic semi-final against reigning champions Hungary, 2:1, and the final against France, 2:0, to clinch the title.