French national team won the title of the 21st Men's World Handball Championship after their victory against the host Croatians 24-19 in the Croatian capital Zagreb on Sunday evening.

The Croatians, who beat the French team 22-19 in a match of the main round on Jan. 27, could not repeat its success in the final due to French team's better defense and attack.

"We played well up to 50th minute, after that we just could not more," said Lino Cervar, selector of Croatia, in the press conference following the end of the final.

The match for the gold was held in the Arena sports hall in Zagreb with 16,000 spectators, including top Croatian officials, in attendance.

Croatia, which won the world championship in Portugal in 2003 after defeating the Germans, has managed to win one gold and three silvers at world handball tournaments so far.

The French have earned a total of seven medals in world handball championships, three golds, one silver and three bronzes.

Earlier on Sunday, the Polish national handball team won the bronze medal after they defeated Denmark 31-23.

On Sunday evening, over 50,000 Croatians flocked into Zagreb's central square to celebrate the silver medal won by Croatia. In a festive atmosphere, local pop and rock stars performed their hits.

Croatia was the host of the 21st World Handball Championship for men from Jan. 16 to Feb. 1, which was held in seven cities, including Zagreb, Split, Osijek, Varazdin, Porec, Zadar and Pula.

The preliminary round, in which 24 national teams were divided into four groups, ended with the three best teams in each group qualifying for the main round.

The main round of the championship continued in two groups -- France, Croatia, Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia and South Korea in one group, playing in Zagreb, and Germany, Denmark, Serbia, Macedonia, Norway and Poland in the other, playing in Zadar.

In semi-final matches, Croatia beat Poland 29-23, while France crushed Denmark 27-22.

(Xinhua News Agency Feburary 2, 2009)