Under-19 European Beach Handball Championships throw off in Lloret de Mar

Two years ago at the Men’s and Women’s 19 European Beach Handball Championships 2013 in Randers, the gold medal ceremony was an all-Hungarian affair with the men’s and the women’s topping the podium.

This time around, when the under-19 European Beach Handball Championships throw off in Lloret de Mar on Friday, Hungary’s teams are once again among the favourites, however another 16 teams are out to pose the maximum challenge for the defending champions.

Nine teams each compete in the men’s and the women’s event. All matches from the main court will be streamed live and the EHF live ticker is also available.

For a detailed match schedule check the official website.

For the men Hungary, Croatia, Turkey, Portugal and Georgia form Group A; Group B consists of Spain, Russia, Switzerland and Germany.

In the women’s event Hungary, Turkey, Croatia, Germany, Slovakia make up Group A, while Russia, Spain, Switzerland and Romania play in Group B.

The first two teams of each group qualify for the semi-finals which will be played on Saturday, 27 June. The bronze medal match and the final will take place on Sunday.

This is the third time the Men’s and Women’s 19 European Championships are taking place.

Hungary won the women’s event in 2011 and 2013, while in the men’s event Croatia won in 2011.

It is the first time that teams from Georgia, Germany and Romania participate at this level.

An interesting side note for Germany: 15-year-old Lucie Kretzschmar, the daughter of the well-known former international Stefan Kretzschmar, will be part of the team.