The men of of Great Britain's handball team were handsomely applauded off the court on Sunday night, despite suffering a comprehensive 44-15 defeat to current Olympic champions France in a Group A preliminary match.
France's centreback Daniel Narcisse jumps to shoot during the men's preliminaries Group A match
Despite GB opening the scoring through Steven Larsson, the French dominated from the outset, rushing into a comfortable early lead.
By half-time the French were 20-7 up with Samuel Honrubia and Guillaume Joli hitting five goals each. GB rallied in the second half with a series of well-taken scores, but the gulf in class was obvious, allowing Joli to finish the game with an 11-goal glut.
Still, the home team were given a rapturous reception at the final whistle, with several players leaving the court wrapped in the Union flag.