YAC 16 Beach Handball EURO 2022

CZECH REPUBLIC

Hungary claim double beach gold

Hungary won both the men’s and women’s gold medals at the YAC 16 Beach Handball EURO 2022 in Prague, without dropping a set. 

In the men’s tournament, Hungary clinched first place in the preliminary round, with three wins, against Sweden, Norway and Poland, before winning the semi-final against Germany (20:19; 22:20) and the final against Spain (18:15; 15:14)

Hungary’s women topped their group in the preliminary round, before wins against the Netherlands in the semi-finals (19:18; 29:16) and against Spain in the final (23:21; 26:25).

Germany won bronze in the men’s tournament, beating Croatia, while the Netherlands took women’s bronze ahead of Ukraine. 

This was the first edition in both tournaments when the winners avoiding dropping a set on their way to the title. 

The result was a step up for Hungary – in the previous edition, they finished fifth in the women’s and ninth in the men’s tournament. Hungary’s Bulcsu Hovan was named MVP of the men’s competition while Vivien Kasper was the best women’s goalkeeper.

Portugal’s Gabriel da Costa Sequeira was the top scorer in the men’s tournament, with 108 points, while Spain’s Celia Garcia Sanchez sealed first place in the women’s tournament, with 122 points, just four more than the Netherlands’ Sterre Jansen.

Portugal and France jointly took home the men’s Fair Play award, and the Czech Republic won the women’s Fair Play prize. 

A total of 15 women’s and 14 men’s teams were in the running in Prague. The event was extensively covered with live scores and results provided via a ticker, and matches shown live on EHFTV.