In what must be one of the toughest preliminary groups in recent years, Puerto Rico make their debut at an IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship and will face Brazil, Germany and Greece in their first three matches.

Their preliminary group features the South American side who won the 2006, 2012, and 2014 titles, alongside 2018 champions Greece and 2022 winners – and title-holders – Germany.

While nobody – even the Puerto Rican players themselves – expect to get much from their opening trio of games, they have shown what they are capable of, having won silver at the 2024 NACHC Women’s North America and Caribbean Beach Handball Championships held on home sand in April to qualify for China 2024 – and beating two experienced world championship sides in Mexico and the USA on the way.

In the north-eastern coastal city of Carolina, they defeated Canada (2-0), the USA (2-1, 6:17, 16:15, SO 9:8), Mexico (2-1, 17:20, 12:8, SO 8:6) and Trinidad and Tobago (2-0, 30:19, 24:6) to set-up a final against the Americans again.

And despite beating the USA earlier on they went down 0-2 (10:26, 16:20) to finish with silver, moving up two places from their 2022 ranking of fourth and confirming their ticket to China. 

In preparation for China 2024, Puerto Rico competed at Stage 1 of the 2024 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour (BHGT) in Maricá, Brazil in May.

They faced their China 2024 opponents Brazil in their opener, losing 0-2 (4:24, 12:14) but followed it up with a win against an experimental USA team 2-0 (19:8, 18:2). Argentina were next with Puerto Rico going down 0-2 (2:26, 8:11) and then a second, consecutive loss, against Uruguay 0-2 (10:12, 8:18. They wrapped up their round-robin, preliminary stage with a 0-2 loss against Portugal before seeing off the USA again, for fifth spot 2-0 (16:14, 15:14).

Yadielis Barros top-scored for her side in Brazil, with 38 points in six games, while goalkeeper Roxanaly Carrasquillo was the fourth-best shot-stopper, saving 31% of shots in her six games, equivalent to 6.5 per game.

“We want to continue showing the world that Beach Handball is played in the Caribbean,” said Abdiel Acevedo who coaches the men’s team and assists with the women’s team, to ihf.info.

“We have now proved this by being the first country in the Caribbean to go to a world championship – China 2024 – with both our senior teams.”

Coach: Jonathan Robles

Key Players: Roxanaly Carrasquillo, Zuleika Fuentes, Yadielis Barros

Qualification information: 2024 NACHC Women’s North America and Caribbean Beach Handball Championships – 2nd

History in Tournament: 2004-2022: DNQ

Group at China 2024: Group D: Germany, Brazil, Greece, Puerto Rico