Colombia’s junior team and Paraguay’s youth team secured the titles in the Men's IHF Trophy – Zone South America, which took place between 23 and 26 June in Lima, Peru.

Seven teams lined up at the start of the junior (U20) category, which were divided into two groups, one of four teams and one of three teams, with the top two sides in each group qualifying to the knockout phase.

In Group A, the surprise winners were French Guiana, which drew in the first match against favourites Paraguay, 36:36, after a strong comeback, with Paraguay being three goals ahead, 31:28, with 10 minutes to go.

Then, the French Guiana battled well against Venezuela to take a 29:27 win, with their final match being a clear 67:20 win over Bolivia, where Clayn Mathar scored 18 goals and Zaian Felichi scored 13 goals.

That big win enabled the French Guiana to finish first in the group, thanks to a better goal difference (+49) than Paraguay (+48), which won 59:13 against Bolivia and 26:24 against Venezuela.

In Group B, Colombia finished on top, with wins over Ecuador (44:14) and Peru (24:19), as the hosts ended up second, with a 41:14 win over Ecuador.

Another hard-fought win for the French Guiana saw them progress to the final, as they once again came back against Peru, by delivering an excellent defending in the last 10 minutes, to snatch a 23:22 win.

Colombia beat Paraguay in the other semi-final, 32:25, and went undefeated in the competition, after another battle in the final against the French Guiana. Miguel Angel Estrada Parra scored 12 goals, as Colombia led from start to finish, but by no more than three goals, eventually clinching a 30:28 win.

The bronze was sealed by Paraguay, which beat Peru, 22:16, with Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia following in the final standings.

Paraguay’s Luis Mario Franco Ojeda was the joint top scorer of the competition, with 37 goals, alongside French Guiana’s Clayn Mathar. 

Six teams took part in the youth (U18) category, which were divided into two groups of three teams each, with the top two sides in each group progressing to the semi-finals.

Paraguay won Group A, with a 30:24 win against Venezuela and a 41:17 win over Ecuador, with Venezuela finishing second thanks to their 48:23 win over Ecuador.

Colombia won Group B, with a hard-fought win against hosts Peru, 33:28, and a clear win over Bolivia, 41:11, with the hosts taking the second place, courtesy of a clear 49:11 win over Bolivia.

Colombia then proceeded to take a 36:29 win over Venezuela, as Simon Alvarez Herrera had nine goals, while Paraguay dominated Peru, 25:22, having an eight-goal lead in the 40th minute, which could not be erased by the hosts.

But Paraguay had no such issues in the final against Colombia. After a well-balanced start, with the score 7:6 after 15 minutes, they went on a 8:0 unanswered run, which was the main building block of their win.

Hugo Isaias Veron Fernandez and Pablo Sebastian Velazquez Suarez each scored two goals, with Paraguay dishing a 11-goal win against their opponents, 28:17.

Peru finished third, with a 38:32 win over Venezuela, while Ecuador ended fifth, after their 29:24 win against Bolivia.

Peru’s Joaquin Alberto Jara Rodriguez was the top scorer of the youth category, with 36 goals, followed by Paraguay’s Pablo Sebastian Velazquez Suarez (25 goals) and Venezuela’s Raywell Gonzalez Anzola (23 goals).

Photo credit: Handball Peru