Handball (or "team handball') is a fast-paced game involving two teams of seven players who pass, throw, catch and dribble a small ball with their hands while trying to score goals, according to the International Handball Federation website.

The team with the most goals wins the game. A game consists of two 30-minute halves with a 10-minute half-time break.

The sport of handball as it is played today has a checkered history, but man's primary use of the hands rather than feet, lends credence to the claim by many sports historians that handball was played earlier than football.

Men's handball was played at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. It was removed from the list of sports after that edition and then made a return as team handball in 1972 for the Summer Olympics in Munich.

Women's team handball was added as an Olympic discipline at the 1976 Summer Olympics.

"From the Athens Olympic Games to last year's world championships, we can see how much faster it has become now," said Li Zhiwen, in charge of the sport for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

"European powerhouses have the advantage of height and now they also move very fast on the pitch. What I mean by 'fast' is not only individual speed but also the speed of changing tactics, and transition between defense and offense."

Though the sport has been developing rapidly and globally, Europeans countries are still the dominant force.

"Europe is still dominating men's handball," Li said. "But South Korea, Kuwait, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Egypt have emerged in recent years and will definitely make the sport more competitive in the near future."

Li said it's more balanced on the women's side and countries from other continents are able to post a threat to European dominance.

"In Asia, China, Japan and South Korea are the best teams. But China still lags behind Japan and the traditionally strong women from South Korea.

"Teams in Africa like Tunisia and Egypt are also rising while in South America, Brazil and Argentina are very competitive."

Chinese handball can boast of a glorious period during the 1980s. The men's team claimed the Asian Games title in 1982, while the female team took bronze at the Los Angeles Olympics, in 1984.

Poor training and a lack of grassroots development have seen the sport slump since then.

In the 1990s, China failed regionally and internationally. At last year's world championships, its women's team finished in 21st place.

The Chinese Handball Association tried to professionalize the game by setting up a national league in 2004, but failed because of a lack of financial support.

In China, with strength and height being the priorities, young players are often chosen from basketball teams and know almost nothing about handball.

The "second-hand" players have to spend a lot of time learning the rules and fundamental skills, instead of tactics.

According to Peng Ning, general secretary of the Chinese Handball Association, most of the Chinese handball players are selected from youth basketball teams at the about the age of 15.

"When the players retire at around 25 or 26, they have only played handball for 10 years. But a good handball player needs at least 15 years to mature."

China's men's handball team is ranked sixth in Asia, but Li is hoping it can spring a surprise, or at least perform well and learn from the world's top teams.

"We will not ask them to finish in a specific place. We just hope our men's team will show their best."