Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Guillaume Gille, the coach of the French handball team, has reduced his list and there are some surprises

Kentin Mahé fait partie des quatre exclus de la liste. MAXPPP – BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Wunderl

At the end of the training camp in Tignes, there are only 17 players left for the home stretch before the Olympic Games.

Guillaume Gille has decided. At the end of the first preparation block for the Olympic Games which ended in Tignes on Thursday July 4, the coach of the French handball team reduced his group of 21 to 17 players. Two Olympic champions pay the price for the coach's choices: Kentin Mahé and Timothey N’Guessan. The other two failed are Nantais Thibaud Briet and Kielce player Benoît Kounkoud.

The list of seventeen

Guardians: Samir Bellahcene, RéDesbonnet, Vincent Gérard

Right Backs: Dika Mem, Melvyn Richardson

Right wingers: Yanis Lenne, Valentin Porte

Left Backs: Nikola Karabatic, Elohim Prandi

Left wingers: Hugo Descat, Dylan Nahi

Centre halves: Aymeric Minne, Nedim Remili

Pivots: Ludovic Fabregas, Luka Karabatic, Karl Konan, Nicolas Tournat

Montpellier residents in the game

The four Montpellier residents (Valentin Porte, Rémi Desbonnet, Yanis Lenne and Karl Konan), on the other hand, remain firmly attached to their Olympic dream.

This group of seventeen players will now begin the 2nd part of the "prep", Monday July 8 at the Maison du handball, in Créteil. Two matches will be on the program in this final stretch before the Games: a trip to Dortmund for a first test against Germany (July 13 at 5:40 p.m.) then Croatia's reception in Chartres (July 17 at 6 p.m.).

Guillaume Gille will reveal his final list at the end of this period. Namely fourteen players plus three substitutes.