At the South Paris Arena, the Spanish men’s handball team will debut this Saturday (9:00 am) against Slovenia, the beginning of the path to winning a new Olympic medal that will return it to the podium where it has not left since 2020 until it fails. in the European past.
In four years, the ‘Hispanos’ have added one continental gold and one silver, two World Cups bronze and one Olympic bronze, in 2021 in Tokyo. Everything was perfect until the team led by Jordi Ribera lost against all odds in the first stage of the European Championship in Germany, seven months ago. Perhaps an injury to the renewal of the team, which continues in this Olympic tournament with the entry of pivot Javi Rodríguez and Blaugrana center back Petar Cikusa, only 18 years old, and the last minute loss of Gedeón Guardiola and Joan Cañellas, the latter sued his second consecutive Games that he did not miss due to injury.
Spain wants to show its reliability in big tournaments, but it will have to do so from a very tight group, where only Japan seems to be a minor rival. The other four teams – Sweden, Germany, Croatia and Slovenia – are not only emerging as candidates to compete in the quarterfinals, but also as contenders for medals. The format, with two groups of six, marks a quarterfinal prize for the first four in each group, and from there, direct crosses. The added goal is to avoid third or fourth place, aiming to lead to the quarterfinals in a duel against France or Denmark, the protagonists of the last two Olympic finals.
Ribera’s challenge is to support a defensive strength on which the team’s recent successes have been based along with the attacking versatility of its front-line players, a key factor in the Games, where each team can only have 14 men, two less than in World Cups.
Spain will face Slovenia today for its debut, the other team that qualified in the Pre-Olympic Championship held in Granollers. The culé Blaz Janc and Jure Dolenec, along with the pivot Blagotinsek, are some of the dangers that Spain needs to stop.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Jason Root, a professional writer working with Today Times Live, the premier news website. I specialize in sports writing, covering the biggest stories in the world of athletics. With an eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, I provide engaging and informative articles that capture the key elements of any event or issue. My work has been featured on numerous respected websites and publications around the world.
