Beach Handball Competition at Buenos Aires 2018

Summer Youth Olympics

2018

Beach Handball Competition at  Buenos Aires 2018

Argentina Gold Medal Win in Beach Handball 

Competition

BUENOS AIRES - Argentina managed to close its participation in the beach handball competition at Buenos Aires with two medals: the women’s team won the gold while men took the bronze.

October 13, 2018 will not be just another day in the history of Argentine handball. It will be remembered as the day when the light blue and white flag was raised on two Youth Olympic podiums for the first time.

The beach handball tournament, which replaced the indoor format of the sport included at Singapore 2010 and Nanjing 2014, made its debut at Buenos Aires 2018 and lived up to expectations, both in terms of public attendance and the performance of the two local teams.

The Argentine women’s team had an ideal tournament. In the first round, they beat Turkey, Paraguay, Venezuela and Hong Kong, losing only to the Netherlands, while in the second phase they defeated Croatia, Hungary and Chinese Taipei.

The women’s semifinal on Saturday morning was nerve-racking as the match was decided in a shoot-out, in which the Argentine team beat Hungary once again. In the decisive game for the gold, the local team coached by Leticia Brunatti showed their skills against Croatia and sealed a 2-0 win, making the spectators ecstatic under the scorching sun.

 "So many years of training, so many friendly matches, so many trips and so many training camps finally paid off," said Caterina Benedetti Gorga, the captain of the Argentine women’s team. "We were sure that if we won the semifinal, we wouldn’t lose the final. The semifinal was the hardest, that's why we were so calm in the final."

The road to gold was not an easy one, especially for those players who had to decide between playing the junior world championship in Poland or the home Youth Olympic Games.

"Nothing was in vain. That decision was very hard, but our teammates, friends and coaches supported us. Luckily, everything happened just like we had dreamed," Benedetti Gorga said.

A dream accomplished: an Olympic gold medal for the Argentine women’s beach handball team. (Photo: Agustin Marcarian / Buenos Aires 2018)

"It’s amazing how many people came to support us. We are thrilled about making them happy," said Argentina’s goalkeeper Rosario Soto with tears in her eyes.

In the women's match for the bronze medal, Hungary beat the Netherlands 2-0.

For their part, the Argentine boys had to take a bitter 2-1 shoot-out loss against Portugal in the semifinal. However, in the match for the bronze held later in the day, the team coached by Daniel Zeballos surpassed Croatia and earned a place on the podium.

"Losing the semifinal was hard. We were expecting to make it to the final, but we didn’t let ourselves get down because we knew that we had a second chance to succeed. We are proud and happy," said Argentina’s Nicolas Millet.

The Argentine men’s team celebrated their bronze medal with joy. (Photo: Agustin Marcarian / Buenos Aires 2018)

While the team was devastated after their loss to Portugal, the players managed to reenergise and take the bronze.

“We drowned our sorrows and came out of the locker rooms with a fresh head. That’s why we got to enjoy the bronze medal match,” Millet said.

Goalkeeper Alejo Novillo, one of the Argentine players most praised by the fans, shared his view: "We were looking for a medal. Although we couldn’t get the gold, we are more than happy with the bronze. We did not have time to dwell on our loss. We had to pick up our heads right away and get in the game for the third place."

Spain won the gold medal in the men’s beach handball tournament. (Photo: Agustin Marcarian / Buenos Aires 2018)

In the final match for the men’s gold medal, Spain – the current junior world champion – defeated Portugal 2-1, in yet another game decided in a shoot-out.