World champs Brazil, Greece aim to excel

When Beach Handball throws off at the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019, two World Champions will chase glory. And the gold medal.Today, Brazil, in the men’s tournament and Greece, in the women’s competition, will begin their quest to shine again.The Brazilians won the gold medal at the VIII World Championship in Kazan, while the Greek team prevailed in the women’s competition.Both countries came in Doha with an almost fully-loaded squad.Brazil fields eight world champions in their roster, while Greece has seven athletes that were present in Kazan.The oldest woman in the entire tournament plays for Greece. At 46, Vasiliki Skara is the heart and soul of the team, although, Eleni Mournou is the player to look out for. She was Greece’s top scorer in Kazan with 82 points, a top-10 player in the scorers list of the World Championship.Regarding Brazil, star-player Gil Pires is the star-player. The 37-year-old Brazilian is a prolific striker and he is well known for his ability to get points. He had 97 and led “Cariocas” to the world crown in Russia.Pires was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a role model athlete for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.“To idea of having Beach Handball at the Olympic Games gives me goosebumps. It’s a dream for all of us who play in this sport. Helping these young athletes, who are our future, is something incredible,” Pires said.The Brazilian plays either in the pivot or left wing positions and has a remarkable track record with Brazil’s national team.He has won four Beach Handball world championships (Rio de Janeiro 2006, Antalya 2010, Recife 2014, Kazan 2018) and three World Games (China Taipei 2009, Colombia 2013 and Poland 2017).