Following a gripping final match, the women’s beach handball team from Morelos, Mexico, took first place at the 2021 Mar y Playa Sports Festival, held in October in Acapulco, Guerrero. The team, made up of ten players, all ages 13-14, defeated Colima, after a 4-3 shoot out. They had previously lost the first set 16-8, and won the second 12-19.
The general director of the Institute of Sport and Physical Culture of the State of Morelos, Germán Villa Castañeda, said that prior to their final match, Morelos had won their semi-final against Mexico City, as well as their group stage matches against Chiapas, Guerrero, and Durango.
The players who made up the gold medal team are Denise Pelayo Méndez, Fátima Peña Trujillo, Luna Paola, Zamora Mora, Alexia Camil Hernández Martínez, Allison Medran López, Valeria Lara Peña, Yamilet Ortiz Yañez, Liliana Negrete García, Frida Emireth Castillo Vales, and Azul Isamar Romero Brito. They were led by coaches Jesús Samperio and Christian Medran.
“I congratulate the representatives who ‘sweated the shirt’ to raise the name of the state to the top of the podium in this event organized by the National Commission of Physical Culture and Sports (Conade); enjoy the triumph, because thanks to you, Morelos engraves its name in gold letters as the first women’s beach handball champion in the Festival Mar y Playa,” said Germán Villa.
Beach handball was one of twelve sports that were featured at the first annual Mar y Playa Sports Festival in Acapulco, in October 2021. The event brought together young athletes from 27 Mexican states, all ages 13 and 14, demonstrating the growing popularity of beach handball among youth.
