Hungary secure eighth women’s junior title

Gold medal match Women's Under-17 Beach Handball EURO
Netherlands 1-2 Hungary (25:20, 14:19, 4:7)

Hungary’s women battled through two shootouts on Sunday to win the under-17 EHF Beach Handball EURO in Varna.

Having dispatched Spain in the semi-final on penalties earlier in the day, the Hungarians secured their nation’s eighth women’s junior title with a shootout win over the Netherlands in the final.

The first set belonged to the Dutch, who were indebted to a series of fine saves from goalkeeper Veerie Meerstad. Those stops enabled the Netherlands to take the first set 25:20.

Hungary began the second set on top and, having opened up a strong lead thanks to some excellent goalkeeping from Dorina Bartok, they maintained a five-point lead to take it to a shootout.

In front of a capacity crowd on centre court, the Hungarians took the initiative after the Dutch missed two penalties in a row. With a chance to win the title, a miss-throw from the Hungary goalkeeper handed the Netherlands a lifeline. However, it was left to Kitti Kreuz to find the target with the one point the Hungarians needed with their final penalty to cue the celebrations.

Hungary, who were runners-up at the previous under-17 Beach Handball EHF EURO two years ago, celebrated a return to the top of the podium after previously winning titles in 2018, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2008.

After finishing in fourth in 2019, the silver medal represented an improvement for the Dutch team who had won every match in the tournament up until the final.

Straight sets win seal medal for Spaniards

Spain, whose under-17 age group won the gold medal at the 2019 edition in Poland, were on the podium once again – this time securing bronze.

The Spanish bounced back from their shootout defeat to Hungary in the semi-final by overcoming the challenge of Germany to finish in third place thanks to a straight sets (22:18, 17:16) victory.

Final women's ranking

1. Hungary, 2. Netherlands, 3. Spain, 4. Germany, 5. Poland, 6. France, 7. Ukraine, 8. Russia, 9. Romania, 10. Bulgaria, 11. Lithuania, 12. Sweden, 13. Greece, 14. Croatia, 15. Slovenia.

All-star Team

Fair Play Team: Germany
Best Goalkeeper: Stina Littorin (Sweden)
Best Defender: Andrea Perez Rull (Spain)
Top Scorer: Dorottya Zentai (Hungary) (131 points)
MVP: Malena Diaz Coppens (Spain)