Six nations will contest the Pan American
Women’s Junior Championship, to be held from March 21 to 25 in Goiania, Brazil.
The event will see a new continental champion crowned, and the top three teams
will qualify for the 2018 IHF Women’s Junior (U20) World Championship in
Hungary.
Chile, Uruguay, Argentina,
Dominican Republic, Brazil and Paraguay will take the court for the round-robin
competition, with Brazil hoping to continue their dominance in the region and
claim their fourth consecutive title.
Brazil are the record winners of
the Pan American Women’s Junior Championship, having raised the trophy eight
times since the competition’s inception in 1993. On the three occasions they
did not emerge as champions, Brazil played the final against Argentina and
finished with the silver medal.
“The fact that the championship
is in Brazil creates extra motivation, but it also generates an anxiety and an
emotional issue that can cause difficulties. However, we are sure that they
[the team] will be able to cope well with that and we will have a great
competition,” Brazil coach Cristiano Silva told the official
Federation website.
Brazil, Argentina and Chile were
the teams to qualify from the continental event for the 2016 Junior World
Championship in Russia. For Chile, that qualification was a landmark
achievement as it was the first time they made it to the Women’s Junior World
Championship.
The three Pan American sides that
qualify for Hungary 2018 will join Angola, Egypt and Ivory Coast from Africa;
and China, Japan and Republic of Korea from Asia. Hungary were directly
qualified for the World Championship as hosts of the event. Russia claimed a
ticket as winners of the 2016 Youth World Championship, and France and Denmark
clinched their berth at the 2017 Women’s 19 EHF EURO.
Referees from Argentina, Brazil,
Chile and Uruguay will whistle the event.
You can find the match schedule
of the event by clicking on the link below.