The French team headed into their match against Serbia with a 100 per cent record to date, having won all six of their matches.

They went in search of a fourth win in the main round to keep themselves at the top of the Group I standings.

A strong first half display saw the world champions ease into a 19-12 advantage over Serbia at the Zagreb Arena.

France continued to put the pressure on their opponents as they eventually sealed a 39-30 victory.

The result keeps them at the top of the standings and on the brink of a place in the semi-finals.

Sweden responded shortly afterwards as they earned a 29-20 win over winless Belarus.

Their success saw them move to joint second in the standings with Croatia, with both teams having a record of three wins and a defeat in the second stage of the competition.

Hosts Croatia will meet France in their final game Group I on Wednesday (January 24), with a victory likely to be enough to take them through.

Third place Sweden will take on Norway, while Belarus and Serbia will meet as both nations hope to secure their first win in this stage of the competition.

The main round of the Asian Men’s Handball Championship began today, following yesterday's rest day.

South Korea earned a 29-27 win over Oman in Group I, with the hosts joined by a Saudi Arabian team who beat Iran 26-23 at the Suwon Gymnasium.

Defending champions Qatar continued their pursuit of their third straight continental title by easing past Japan 40-23.

They were joined at the top of the Group II standings by Bahrain, who were 28-22 winners against the United Arab Emirates.

Group matches in the main round will continue for the next two days, with the top two ranked sides in each advancing to the semi-finals.

In today’s African Men's Handball Championship action, preliminary games drew to a close in both the five team groups.

Tunisia assured themselves of top spot in Group A by beating Congo 36-23, with the result seeing their record move to three wins and one draw.

Gabon drew 29-all with Cameroon at the Le Palais des Sports de Libreville, resulting in hosts Gabon settling for second in the standings, with Algeria ending third.

A draw was not enough to lift Cameroon off the bottom of the standings, with Congo taking the final place in the quarter-finals at their expense.

Congo will now face the challenge of Egypt, who topped the Group B table with four straight wins having overcome DR Congo 36-27 today.

Angola settled for second and a clash with Algeria in the last eight.

A 24-23 win for Morocco over Nigeria saw them finish third in Group B, setting up a tie with Gabon in the quarter-finals.

The result also eliminated Nigeria, meaning DR Congo will take on Group A winners Tunisia on Wednesday (January 24).