French triumph at the World Championship

The 21st Men’s World Championship came to an end in Croatia on Sunday. The greatest national team competition of the handball season saw high quality games and many strong national sides in the two weeks between 16 January and 1 February 2009.

The Final of the tournament will remain as one of the “handball classics” between the organiser Croatia and the Olympic Champion France. At the end of a tough battle the French have taken the gold medals with a 24-19 victory.

Also on Sunday, the third place was taken by Poland after defeating the European Champion Denmark by 31-23 in the Bronze Medal Game.

The tournament was characterised by a very high sporting quality and a remarkable performance by the 14 European teams taking part. The first 11 (!) places in Croatia were taken by national teams from the European continent.

The European Handball Federation congratulates the teams of the 21st Men’s World Championship for their performance and France, Croatia and Poland in particular for winning the prestigious medals.