Introduced to handball by her mother, who played in Spain, Mexico's Victoria Quiñones Guzmán is discovering the international stage in Agadir before turning her attention to another milestone: the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, where she is set to represent her country in beach handball.

For Quiñones Guzmán, handball began at home, long before she pulled on Mexico's national-team jersey or stepped onto the court at the inaugural IHF Women's Under-16 World Championship in Morocco.

Her mother was the person who introduced her to the sport, training her when she was little and remaining by her side throughout her development. Having played handball herself in Mexico and Spain, she passed helped establish a connection that continues to shape Victoria's ambitions.

“I started when my mom trained me when I was little. She was with me during the whole process,” the Mexican centre back said in Agadir, after Mexico’s 30:40 loss against Uzbekistan.

“After that, I started training again and that's when I started playing more.”

Now wearing number 10 for Mexico, the Nuevo León HC player is experiencing a new level of competition, representing her country at the first edition of a World Championship created specifically for girls at the Under-16 age category.

 

For her and her teammates, being in Morocco has a huge meaning. Mexico earned its place through the North America and Caribbean qualification event, held in Mexico City from 28 June to 2 July, where it secured one of the two available berths alongside the United States.

The inaugural IHF Women's Under-16 World Championship brings together 16 national teams from five continents, providing young players with an opportunity to gain international experience earlier in their development. For Mexican handball, the tournament is an important platform to showcase its emerging talent and strengthen the pathway towards future international competitions.

“I'm very happy to be here and to have won the the continental competition in North America,” Quiñones Guzmán said.

The opening matches in Agadir have tested Mexico against opponents with different styles and levels of international experience. After a 53:12 defeat against Germany, Mexico faced Uzbekistan, eventually losing 40:30.

Quiñones Guzmán responded with eight goals against Uzbekistan, becoming Mexico's leading scorer in that match and named the Player of the Match for her contribution. Her performance offered a glimpse of her attacking contribution as the team continued adapting to the demands of world-level competition. It was a statement of intent too, after her initial performance against Germany saw the European side's defence control Mexico, with Quiñones scoring only once from 11 attempts.

The results have not gone Mexico's way so far in Morocco, but the value of the experience extends beyond the scoreboard. Facing teams from Europe and Asia gives the players a reference point for their development, while the competition provides valuable opportunities to learn how to respond to different tactical approaches.

For a young player whose international ambitions are still taking shape, those experiences can be an important part of the journey.

When asked what she hopes to gain from playing on this stage, Quiñones Guzmán was clear about wanting more opportunities to compete internationally.

“I want to be able to play in more tournaments like this one,” she said.

And Mexico have been more and more present in the younger age categories on the big stage. At the 2026 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, they finished 28th. At junior level, Mexico featured in 2022 and 2024, finished 32nd each time.

Here, Mexico's final preliminary-round match against Tunisia offers another opportunity to build on the lessons from the opening games and finish the group campaign on a positive note.

 

But Quiñones Guzmán's international calendar does not end in Morocco. She has been part of Mexico’s youth beach handball at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, adding another international challenge to her young career.

The beach handball competitions will take place in Senegal from 9 to 13 November, with Mexico drawn in Group A alongside Spain, Croatia and the People's Republic of China.

Despite the opportunities already coming her way, Quiñones Guzmán is looking further ahead. Her ambitions are shaped not only by the experiences she is collecting with Mexico, but also by the family connection that first brought her into the sport.

Her mother played handball in Spain. Now, Victoria has a dream of making her own mark there one day.

“My dream is to play in Spain,” she said.