The National Team of Greece started their campaign at the Men's Beach Handball World Championships with a 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico.

Greece team got off to a flying startand won the first set with a margin of 17 points.

Puerto Rico seemed unable to stop the Greek offence, but they turned the tables in the second set, hitting the hosts with multiple attacks that led them to an eight-point advantage (18:10).

Nevertheless, Greece used their rock solid defence to start a brave come back which saw them using a 15:0 run to a lead by seven (25:18) and eventually defeat a frustrated Puerto Rican side.

Greece – Puerto Rico 2-0 (30:13, 27:20)

Greece: Eleftheriadis Georgios 11, Karagkiozopoulos 8, Boskos 2, EleftheriadisChrysovalantis, Theodorou 4, Ladakis 16, Gourgoumis, Papazoglou, Tsanaxidis 14, Batzios 2.

Puerto Rico: Eduardo 2, Gonzalez Lebron, Hernandez 10, Vazquez 6, Rodríguez 8, Rivera 2, Rosado Daniel, Rosado Hector 1, Vargas, Gonzalez Manouel 2.

Referees: Ben Salah Mohamed Aymen (TUN) - Drissi Mohamed Kamel (TUN). Susspensions: 3-4

Quotes

Dionysis Karagiozopoulos (Greece - Player)

"We are very happy we achieved our first victory at a world championship in these wonderful facilities and in fact in our own country. Celebrations must end here, because two more crucial games are ahead of us that will decide our qualification to next round.

“In the second set we overturned a big deficit when we started playing with our soul and showed great spirit and will. We did not give up because we desperately wanted to win”.

Luis Guillermo (Puerto Rico - Player)

"This is our first time at a World Championship. It’s a great experience to play in these excellent facilities.

“We did not do well in the first set, in the second we were good, but we could not beat Greece".