[Sport] The Pre-Olympic, open door to Tokyo for the 'Warriors'

[#Steeven.™]

The women's team will play with Sweden and Argentina, one of the two places

"We want it to start. After a postponed year it is getting very long. It's like having you in the bullpen to see if they open the door." Carlos Viver, the women's coach, refers with that simile to the pre-Olympic handball tournament that his team faces from this Friday in Llíria (Valencia), and that was canceled in 2020 at the same time due to the covid pandemic.

It is the last obstacle that separates the 'Warriors' from the Olympic Games. They play it thanks to their world runner-up championship achieved in 2019. Their tournament, which had to face them against Sweden, Senegal and Argentina, has been reduced to a triangle due to the loss of the African team due to the political instability of their country, although it was justified with reasons budgetary. The best two will get their qualification for Tokyo. "If one stops coming, it benefits the other three teams, but there is no margin for error and each one is more dangerous," warns Viver.

"We respect Sweden and Argentina a lot, we know them well, and now we have to put all the meat on the grill"

Other technicians see it differently. The Swedish Per Johansson, former coach of Montenegro, after learning about Senegal's withdrawal, congratulated his country's team for considering it virtually classified. "It is very easy to do it when there is no selection, and I do not know if it helps the Swede a lot or gives Argentina more courage, which is whom he does not want," says the Spanish coach. "We respect both of them very much, we know them well, and now we have to put all the meat on the grill."

Argentine 'La Garra' has raised its level in recent years. Half of the internationals that compete in this Pre-Olympic compete in Europe -five in the Iberdrola Guerreras League-, but no one is hiding that the two favorites of this Pre-Olympic are Sweden and Spain, who face each other on the first day. The precedents leave any forecast open: they tied in their last two games, in the 2019 World Cup and in the last European. The longest running Swedish player, Isabella Gulldén, who in December announced her retirement from the national team, will no longer be in this Pre-Olympic.

"We will need the game against Argentina, yes or yes, to close the classification no matter what happens with Sweden"

"The game can be even because we know each other well. I don't think there will be a very big difference," predicts Viver. "You can leave things open depending on the result, and the game against Argentina we will need, yes or yes, to close the classification no matter what happens with Sweden."

Viver called up 18 players. Most of them (14) played in the European past and were joined by goalkeeper Darly Zoqbi, Ivet Musons, Eli Cesáreo, recovered from a wrist operation, and Irene Espínola, the only newcomer in a competition of this level. Later Carmen Campos, top scorer in the French League, was injured and was replaced by Silvia Arderius.

Several of the 'Guerreras' who play abroad still played continental or league competition matches with their teams until last weekend. Those who do it in Spain were working on a concentration of Project 2021 for the World Cup that will also take place in Spain in December.

"Entering a Games is extremely tough and playing it all in a week, with only five or six training sessions, is an aberration"

"Entering the Games is very tough and playing it all in one week, with only five or six training sessions, is an aberration," says the Spanish coach. "You deposit the four-year program in a very few days and it seems very little to me for all the responsibility it entails." That said, Viver is optimistic: "Everything that is not reached physically will be done by the head."