Euro glory for France's handball stars

France's women's handball team added the European crown to their World title in front of their home fans, booked their place at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 - and avenged their defeat in the final of the 2016 Olympics.

A year after winning the World title, France's handball stars beat Olympic champions Russia 24-21 in a tense final in front of a full house at the Accor Hotel Arena in Paris Bercy at the weekend.

The Russians had been the only one of the game's big-players that France have not beaten in recent years. And they had lost 26-23 to the same opponents in the opening match of the championships a fortnight earlier.