Georgia win first Emerging Nations title

The 3rd Emerging Nations Championship saw six European sides on court against six other nations from Africa, Asia and Pan America.

On the final day of competition on Sunday, hosts Georgia played the final against Cuba and took an emphatic win, 31:21. Earlier in the day, Bulgaria won the bronze medal following a dominant performance, 46:31, against Great Britain.

Georgia had a perfect home championship in Tbilisi, arriving at the trophy match with only wins in their account following five in the preliminary round and a strong semi-final victory, 28:21, versus Great Britain.

With their win and Bulgaria’s defeat in extra time to Cuba in the second semi-final, Georgia became the top European side in the competition and secured a place in the relegation round of the EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers.

In the relegation round, Georgia will join Luxembourg and Cyprus as the winners of qualification phase 1, as well as the three lowest ranked teams in the EHF EURO 2020 Qualifiers - Estonia, Belgium and Finland - which also concluded on Sunday.

The other European teams in the Emerging Nations Championship, Azerbaijan, Ireland and Malta, placed 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively.

All results and news on the Emerging Nations Championship can be found on the official IHF competition website.