Paris 2024 Olympic handball draws: Hosts France draw Denmark in repeat of Tokyo 2020 men's final
Handball fans, the wait is over.
The draws deciding the groups for the men's and women's Paris 2024 Olympic handball tournaments took place in Paris on 16 April - and things are looking spicey.
In Group B of the men's tournament, hosts France face Denmark in a repeat of the final of the last Olympic Games that took place in 2021. Les Bleus were crowned Olympic champions following a 25-23 victory over the Scandinavian nation. But in 2023, they suffered a defeat against Denmark in the final of the 2023 World Championships. They will be hoping to exact their revenge on home soil at Paris 2024.
The Olympic hosts will also face the challenge of Tokyo 2020 semi-finalists Egypt, with three of the final four from the last Olympics all drawn in a stacked Group B.
Group A includes 2024 European bronze medallists Sweden, as well as reigning Olympic bronze medallists Spain and Germany, who were fourth at the last Euro.
"Any of these 12 teams have the potential to make it to the semis," France's men's coach Guillaume Gille said in an interview following the draw. "With this draw, we're laying the foundations for our journey. Finally, we can put teams in front of each other in these first matches, which mark the start of our Olympic adventure.
"The draw, which defines the opponents and the order of play, is likely to make the Olympic Games even closer than they were before. I'm also delighted that we can look forward to these epic clashes in 100 days."
In the women's tournament, Group A features a trio of Scandinavian powerhouses after Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Norway and fellow Scandinavian nations Sweden and Denmark were all drawn together. They will, however, avoid the considerable challenge of Olympic gold medallists France, who will face up against the likes of Spain and the Netherlands in Group B.
Spain's women's coach Ambros Martin expressed that she is looking forward to coming up against the reigning Olympic champions in their own backyard. "It is going to be spectacular to play in France against the host country," she told the Spanish handball federation.
Olivier Krumbholz, the coach of France's women's team was also excited about the prospect of playing in a home tournament.
"We might have a bit of pressure in the first game to get into the swing of competition but then we'll surf on the excitement of the competition," he said.
A total of 12 men's and 12 women's teams will compete at Paris 2024, with two groups of six in the preliminary round of each of the tournaments. The top four nations in each group qualify for the quarter-finals, followed by a traditional knockout format until the gold medal match.
In the preliminary round, the 1st place nation in each group will face the 4th place nation in the second group, with the 2nd place nation facing the 3rd in the other.
Discover which teams have been drawn in each group below.
Women's Paris 2024 handball draw
Group A: Norway, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, Denmark, Republic of Korea
Group B: Hungary, Netherlands, Spain, France, Brazil, Angola
Men's Paris 2024 handball draw
Group A: Spain, Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, Japan
Group B: Denmark, Norway, Hungary, France, Egypt, Argentina