It’s obvious: Canadian handball players are having fun at the Pan American Games in Santiago. Each goal was celebrated as a small victory on Thursday against Argentina. And against such an experienced team, it was mostly positive that came out of the 31-10 loss suffered at the conclusion of the preliminary phase of the tournament.
Six 10-minute “mini-games” and try to win one. This is how the Canadians divided this duel presented at the multi-sport gymnasium in Vina Del Mar, a town located approximately 120 kilometers from Santiago.
“Like a game,” illustrated Nassima Benhacine. We focused on ten minutes with small goals instead of a full hour. »
The opportunities to compete against a nation that will take part in the World Championship in the coming weeks are becoming very rare in the Canadian camp. Argentina’s representatives are professional players in Europe and simply facing them was beneficial in the eyes of the Canadians, as captain and goalkeeper Vassilia Gagnon pointed out in the mixed zone.
“You learn a lot just by watching them. How they move the ball and attack the goal… We were proud after each goal scored. They are professionals! Already, our objective was to score 10 and give up 30. We are going to build on that! » said the woman who is in her third Pan American Games.
The speed of execution and the efficiency of the Argentines effectively dictated the pace of the match. They scored 31 times on 46 shots and were perfect on the counterattack. Elke Karsten was the winners’ top scorer as all ten of her shots found the back of the net.
Myriam Laplante scored three goals for the Canadians. Laurie Lacasse, Myriam Zimmer and Alberta’s Haven Wong each scored two. Emily Routhier has one goal on her record.
Rosali Langlois, Samantha Koosau, Audrey Marcoux and Alexandra Pivin are the other Quebecers in action in Chile, accompanied by Albertans Teodora Bosonea, Katya Chan and Haven Wong. Note that Catherine Léger was injured before the competition and had to withdraw, like star player Maksi Pallas, who plays in a professional league in Germany.
“The last time we played Argentina must have been 12 years ago! My daughters who have the most international experience have played 30 matches in 11 years. Some teams celebrated their hundredth international match here,” mentioned coach Nathalie Brochu. Like all of her protégés, she did not seem affected by their third defeat of the tournament. She kept smiling, as was the case during the majority of the game.
“From an outside point of view, you look at the score and you wonder if we’re happy to lose when we play, but that’s not how we see it,” explained Nassima Benhacine. Every great action is a victory, that’s how we see it and that’s the energy we want to project. It gives me chills to know that you see it from the stands! »
Everything to please mental trainer Nadia Lefebvre, delighted with the Canadian players’ approach to such opponents.
“We approached the game with the gratitude of having the chance to face girls whose job (to play handball), while for us, it’s the evenings and weekends, through our full-time jobs,” she said.
“That’s what’s most important. The attitude on the field must remain at a high energy level. There’s all the stress management too. When we see professional athletes, we can be impressed and find ourselves on our heels more easily. It’s about managing it with pleasure, calmly and that’s what we did. »
The Canadians will play their first classification match on Saturday against the Puerto Ricans.
“We saw that we are capable of producing something against these players, of causing turnovers,” concluded Nathalie Brochu, who has managed the national team since 2017. “I consider that we have learned a lot and the girls can get this back for the next two games. I’m proud of the match, we’re turning the page and we’re going for fifth place. This is our goal. »