With a fifth-place finish at the 2025 IHF Women’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship in Tunisia last year, hopes were high for the Uruguay women’s side coming into the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

In fact, coach Francisco GALLO told IHF.info ahead of the tournament that “…our expectation is to compete for a medal”. 

And that is exactly what his side are doing on the West African sand as they extended their winning run to four-in-a-row in Senegal, defeating Mexico in the quarter-finals on Wednesday (11 November) to set-up a semi-final clash against France.

“The truth is, from my perspective, we are very capable to achieve a medal,” said Uruguay’s defender Julia ROTUNDO BIANCHI to IHF.info straight after that Mexico victory.

 

“We are really happy. We made a huge effort, with a big compromise. We left a lot of things and made sacrifices back home to be here. We are giving 100% and even more in every match but we are still not satisfied; we want more and with all the support from our team and coaches, we can achieve the goals that we have.

“Now we are ready to face France. We know it will be very difficult, but we will give our best on court.”

ROTUNDO BIANCHI knows all about compromise. The 1,84m player hails from the town of Nueva Palmira, situated on the border with Argentina, just under 300km away from Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, and home to a population of just over 10,000 people.

Her commitment to both indoor and beach handball saw her travel every week back and forth between the two places as a young teenager, eventually moving away from home to the capital to concentrate fully on her career, with the soon-to-be 18-year-old living by herself to focus on her dream.

And it is paying dividends as she cannot only boast that top five world championship finish, but has been fast-tracked into the senior national team squad where she is a clear beacon for an exciting, new generation of Uruguayan beach handball players who look set to disrupt the traditional South American powerbases of Brazil and Argentina under the direction of former men’s national team player, GALLO.

“Yes, it’s true. I feel part of this new generation of Uruguayan players that are rising in beach handball,” says the daughter of well-known former footballer Nicolas Ezequiel ROTUNDO FERRARO. “It is because we are working a lot during our summer, with a lot of competitions. In the end, we all know each other very well and we are working to improve as much as possible.

 

“I have a very good relationship with my coach,” she adds. “He is a fundamental pillar in my career, there since my first-ever championship and always there for me now. When he sees that I am a little upset, he supports and encourages me a lot so I go back to a positive dynamic, so I would say it’s a very nice relationship.”

ROTUNDO BIANCHI is a dominant force for Uruguay in their defensive unit, key in their sets and key in any shoot-outs – of which, they have won two out of two at Dakar 2026, against Senegal and France.

Always switched on, the player is in constant contact with GALLO and his coaching staff throughout games, keeping focused in an environment with temperatures on the sand in Saly around the mid-30s (degrees). Games have been a physical and mental test for all involved.

“The truth is that it’s hard to play in these conditions. We were expecting warm days but not so extreme, especially with the humidity,” explains the player. “This is affecting us a little because, speaking for myself, I consider sometimes I’m not giving 100% because of the heat. But each day we are getting more used to the sun and we try to adapt as quickly as possible.”

And that adaptation now sees ROTUNDO BIANCHI and her side have two chances for an Olympic Games medal, a ‘pinch me’ moment for the player.

 

“When I started playing, I never thought I could arrive where I am right now,” says the Scuola Italiana di Montevideo club player. “My brother has always been a big support for me; he always told me that I could be at these kinds of competitions but I was not sure if it would be possible. Now I am here and I am very proud.

“I am really proud of being able to represent Uruguay, I always have my nails painted – even my toes – in the ‘La Celeste’ colours (sky blue colours of the Uruguay flag) and I am really proud of our flag and country. It’s an honour to be here. I feel like sometimes we are not fully aware of the situation because we do not think of the size of this event; it’s something amazing.”

Thanks to Carmen de Weert for Spanish to English translation