It was differing form for The World Games title-holders on day two of Chengdu 2025 as Croatia’s men were beaten again while Germany’s women made it two wins from two to extend their competition record to 11 straight victories.
All 16 teams in the men’s and women’s beach handball competitions were in action on Friday (8 August) afternoon.
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Despite the best efforts of the home crowd in supporting their neighbours, Vietnam could not get anywhere near The World Games and World Championship title-holders Germany, who eased to a 2-0 (26:16, 24:12) win.
There had been a glimmer of hope in the second set for the Asian champions with the set tied at 6:6 after three minutes, but Quynh Do Thi Nhu was shown a direct red card and the Europeans outscored their rivals 14:2 over the next six minutes to make it 20:8 and seal the deal.
Such was the strength of the Germans that when Pauline Borrmann missed a penalty in the late stages of the first set, her wide shot broke through the advertising hoarding. Isobel Kattner in attack was also a constant thorn in the side of the Vietnam defence, her perfect positioning constantly blocking off extra options for their opponents to score.
Four German players ended on double-figures in the scoring charts, including Belen Gettwart, who is happy with two wins from two and happy to receive some extra support from the supporting Germany Fistball team.
“It’s been a good start in the competition and we take a lot of power into the next games,” said Gettwart. “The extra supporters made a lot of noise, they pushed us.”
After their opening day loss again the Germans, European champions Spain won a tight encounter against Denmark 2-0 (13:12, 19:18). Jimena Laguna Contreras’ golden goal sealed the first set after both Frida Ulrichsen and Frederikke Laerke missed a single point either side of the additional action.
The second set was clearer towards the end, Spain leading 19:16 with 10 seconds remaining to ensure the victory. Maria Batista recorded 12 points for the Spanish.
Spain’s neighbours Portugal recorded their first The World Games victory ever as the debutants saw off host nation China comfortably, 2-0 (22:8, 22:14), Sara Pinho top-scoring on 14 points.
“It’s a good feeling, we beat the host team and they have good players, so it was a hard game, but we are so happy,” said Pinho to ihf.info. “We are so happy to be here because we have done a lot of work during the last the past three years to be here. China is such a big country and we have been made to feel so welcome here.”
2024 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship silver medallists Argentina handed Croatia their second defeat in two days, the South Americans continuing their perfect start with a 2-0 (18:16, 24:19) victory thanks to a monster points haul from Gisella Bonomi, who racked up 24 points. It was a repeat of Argentina’s 2-0 win over the Croatians last year at the world championship.
We are very lucky to be here and we are growing inside of our match and we are really happy with our performance,” said Zoe Turnes to ihf.info. “It is my first time at The World Games and the opening ceremony was magical for me and I was really proud seeing Luciana as the flagbearer. She is an emblematic figure for us in the ‘Kamikazes’ (Argentina’s women’s team nickname).”
With the results, Germany top preliminary group A with four points from two games. They are followed by Denmark in second (2 points), Spain (2) and Vietnam (0). Group B sees Argentina top (4), followed by Portugal (2), China (2) and Croatia (0).
All eight teams in the two groups go directly through to the quarter-finals on Sunday (10 August), with the final round of preliminary group games played on Saturday (9 August).
As expected, the first two men’s games went the way of the European sides, with Spain defeating China 2-0 (28:12, 22:12) and Denmark beating Tunisia 2-0 (30:18, 19:16).
Mario Miranda Sirvent’s 14 points helped Spain on their way to their second win in two days, handing China their second loss in a row, despite Yang Tingqing’s 10 points.
“To play against China was special because it’s a very big tournament and the feeling of the home crowd is very, very nice, to see this kind of match,” said Spain’s Gonzalo Cervera to ihf.info.
“The tactics in every match is different; whether you play against China or you play against Portugal, because all the players are very different. Every match is a lot of preparation work for us.”
Denmark got off the mark with their victory against the African champions, Christien Nielsen top-scoring with 16 points, putting to bed their opening day defeat against Spain.
“Spain are a good team, it was a very intense game with a lot of emotions but it was good to bounce back, especially in the first set, today,” said Denmark’s Martin Vilstrup Andersen to ihf.info. “We showed also some character bouncing back and I think we played very well. In the second set, we struggled a little bit with finding a rhythm in the beginning, and then in the last couple of minutes, I missed a couple of shots.
“I feel like the heat was playing a little bit of role for the first time. Besides it being hot, the ball is sometimes wet and full of sand, but that’s no excuse. The Tunisia goalkeeper had some saves, and that’s why in the end, it was getting more equal, because Tunisia scored around the same amount of points in both sets. It was just ourselves that didn’t put the ball in the goal, and that’s why it came close in the second.”
Coming into the game as The World Games and World Championship title-holders, Croatia were favourites against Brazil, but historically, they were massive underdogs, having lost all four encounters with the South Americans in The World Games history.
In the end, Croatia could not keep playmaker Bruno Oliveira quiet and with his magical assists, and some inventive scoring, he led his side to a 2-0 (20:14, 18:16) victory, Brazil’s point leader Pedro da Silver, with 15 points.
It was the second victory in two days for Brazil and second defeat in two days for Croatia, who lost to the European champions Germany on the opening day.
“It was a big pleasure to play Croatia,” said Brazil’s Rai Goncalves to ihf.info. “It is always a big, tough match, but it is a preliminary game so maybe not everyone gives 100% and they keep a bit of effort for the next round. We are happy to get the win.”
The Germans were handed their first defeat of Chengdu 2025, losing to debutants Portugal 1-2 (20:18, 12:14, SO 2:6) in the only shoot-out of the day which turned into a disaster for Morten Franke’s side as Lennart Liebeck was the only Germany player to score in their five, Portugal scoring their first three to secure the win, despite missing their last two.
Portugal did have the option of at least taking the first set to a golden goal, but Diogo Ferreira missed the opportunity to equalise at 20:20 in the dying seconds after Ricardo Castro had run on to the court to pat away a German open-goal scoring attempt.
Ferreria, who missed two shoot-out shots on day one in their shoot-out defeat to Brazil, recorded a game-high 14 points.
“We lost against them in the European Championship and we had the feeling that we could do better and we could prove it in this match,” said Portugal captain Ricardo Castro to ihf.info.
“We are growing with the competition. The first match is always complicated because we have to adapt to the weather, the team, but we are very happy. With the first match, we lost in a shoot-out to Brazil, but it’s some kind of lottery – we had some bad luck there, but today luck smiled on us and we are confident we could win the match.”
With all eight teams in the men’s competition going through to the quarter-finals, the two preliminary groups of four are all about finishing top to play the fourth-placed team in their parallel group.
All teams have now played two games each and have one game each left to play in the preliminary group stage. In group A, Brazil are top with four points from two games. They are followed by Germany (2 points), Portugal (2) and Croatia (0). Group B sees Spain top (4), followed by Denmark (2), Tunisia (2) and China (0).
The World Games Chengdu 2025 – Beach Handball: Day 2 results
Friday 8 August
Preliminary Group
Women’s Competition
VIE vs GER 0-2 (16:26, 12:24)
ESP vs DEN 2-0 (13:12, 19:18)
POR vs CHN 2-0 (22:8, 22:14)
CRO vs ARG 0-2 (16:18, 19:24)
Men’s Competition
ESP vs CHN 2-0 (28:12, 22:12)
TUN vs DEN 0-2 (18:30, 16:19)
BRA vs CRO 2-0 (20:14, 18:16)
GER vs POR 1-2 (20:18, 12:14, SO 2:6)