Photo: www.telerebelde.icrt.cu

Havana, November 23 (RHC)-- Cuba's women's handball will face Brazil today in the debut of the national delegation in the First Pan American Youth Games, scheduled to take place in the Colombian region of Cali-Valle until December 5.

A last-minute change in the schedule led to the first date of the duel between the top favorites to advance in Group B of the tournament, since the teams of Cuba and Brazil would close the elimination phase at the beginning; in a key completed by Paraguay and the Dominican Republic.

For the West Indian technical director, Jorge Coll, the opening game against the Brazilians does not represent pressure, "on the contrary, a start at this level will allow us to evaluate the potential of these girls with a view to the collective purpose of fighting for a place in the semifinals".

Several practice sessions facilitated the conditioning and the arrival from Spain of Amanda Toledo (Rocosa Gran Canaria) who sealed the national group that will look for victories against Paraguay (day 24) and the Dominican Republic (day 25) on the small board of the Coliseum "Ivan Vassilev Todorov" with the intention of fighting on Saturday 27 for a place in the title on Sunday's date.

The Cuban coach in dialogue with Prensa Latina highlighted the virtues of the team in spite of the international inexperience and youth; at the same time he pointed out as the main weapon the speed in function of the attack.

"Several of these young players have played some minutes with the national team in regional competitions. The preparation was short, between eight and nine weeks, but very effective, we concentrated our efforts on the physical aspect and speed," added the Cuban coach.

About this inaugural event of America, Coll recognized its importance to support the development of the new generations and in the case of Cuba, he said that "it comes at a crucial time to enhance the relay and evaluate the potential of the reserve with a view to the future".

The women's handball tournament in Cali-Valle brings together eight teams from the continent divided into two groups and the A key is made up of Argentina, Chile, Mexico and the host Colombia.

According to the event's program, the elimination round of round-robin, one round only, will extend its actions until Thursday 25 and the two top teams of each bracket will play the semifinals on Saturday 27; meanwhile, the battle for the golden metal will take place on the following day. Cuba has registered 212 athletes in 26 of the 33 sports and so far, exponents of women's handball, judo, taekwondo, shooting and canoeing have already arrived in Colombia.