The best of beach handball showcased in Paris

24 matches were played across Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the French Handball Federation headquarters, the "Maison du Handball" in Paris.

The France men's and women's national teams each took on three All-star teams of players representing 17 different countries, led by some of the most experienced coaches in the sport.

The European countries represented were Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain. 24 female and 21 male players made up 45 of the 64 total players taking to the sand.

The round-robin format saw teams face each other twice over the three days.

In the women's competition, Team Vela were unstoppable, winning all six of their matches. Coached by Greece women’s coach Maria Karantoni and Croatia men’s Mladen Paradzik, they dropped just three sets all tournament.

Team Hydra had a perfect Monday, taking two wins to take their total to three, level with Team Lyra, while France women failed to register a victory, taking a few of their matches to a shoot-out but ultimately unable to get a win for the home crowd.

The men's competition was a much tighter affair, with every team on one win and one loss after the opening day.

But it was the two victories that Team Pegasus picked up on Sunday that ultimately made the difference, including what turned out to be a vital shoot-out win over Team Aquila, as Pegasus finished the tournament on four wins to Aquila's three.

Croatian Ivan Juric captained Pegasus' soar to victory, who had Argentina's Nahuel Perez and Bruno de Oliveira of Brazil in fine form, showcasing the global nature of beach handball, as players used the weekend to call for its inclusion in future Olympic Games.

The France men's team also finished on three wins, while Team Draco finished fourth with two victories, one of which came against champions Pegasus, displaying just how evenly-matched the teams were! See the full results and find out more information here.

There is still plenty of exciting beach handball action ahead with the continuation of the European Beach Handball Tour and the Champions Cup in October.

Main photo credit: FFHandball – Ahtlaqdmm