GB men lose their first post-Olympic European qualifier

GB men lost all of their group matches at the London 2012 Olympics, but handball received wide-spread acclaim from spectators watching the sport for the first time.

Great Britain suffered a crushing 43-14 defeat by Greece in their first match since the London Olympics.

The British men lost all of their group matches at this summer's Games and are now bottom of their Euro 2016 qualifying pool, which includes Italy.

GB's Gawain Vincent and Ciaran Williams scored five each, but seven goals from Savvas Karypidis aided Greece's win.

Britain will face Italy and Greece at home in April 2013, with their final match away to the Italians in June.

Handball was a suprise hit of the London 2012 Olympics, with many suggesting it could be one of the major legacy sports of the Games.

However, the GB team are unsure of future financing and many of the players took part in fund-raising activities to ensure their trip to Greece for their opening European qualifier took place.

Head coach Dragan Djukic left the British set-up and took over the Israeli national team following the Olympics and the sport has been unable to hire a replacement until they learn how much support UK Sport will grant them on the road to the 2016 Games in Brazil.

A decision is expected in the middle of December.