Brazil have been drawn into Group B of the World Cup, in the same group as Australia, Japan, Canada, Colombia and hosts Denmark

At the Paralympic Games in Tokyo (Japan), Brazil was represented in only two modalities: basketball and wheelchair rugby. For both, however, the Paris (France) cycle started well, with the classification of the selections at the respective World Championships. In the case of rugby, it will be the Brazilian debut in the eighth edition of the event.

The competition will take place in Velje (Denmark), from October 8th to 17th. The team will have a final stage of preparation, at the Paralympic Training Center (CTP), in São Paulo, between September 10 and 16, the month following the holding of the Brazilian Championship – first and second divisions – of wheelchair rugby , August 15th. at the 17th, also at the CTP.

The unprecedented World Cup berth came with third place at the Americas Championship, held in Medellin, Colombia, in March. In the first phase, the Brazilians beat Chile (62-8) and Argentina (65-32) and were beaten by Canada (33-57), the United States (38-60) and the hosts (39-45). In the semi-finals, the selection again failed to resist the Canadians (35-52), but managed to resume the match with the Colombians in the dispute for bronze, carrying the hosts 54-52. The same ones that, in 2019, left Brazil off the podium at the Parapan American Games in Lima (Peru).

“We have always fought with Colombia as the third power in the Americas, so we knew we had a chance. We did specific work with them, who would be our direct adversaries [pelo terceiro lugar e a vaga no Mundial]from Canada [país onde surgiu o rugby em cadeira de rodas] and United States [prata em Tóquio e maior campeão mundial, com quatro títulos] They were a level above. We had more physical preparation, more hours of training and the group became more coherent”, amended captain Guilherme Camargo.

The campaign in Medellin was also marked by the death of Luiz Claudio Pereira, former president of the Brazilian Wheelchair Rugby Association (ABRC). A former Paralympic athlete in the shot put, throw (javelin and discus) and pentathlon, as well as the country’s fifth Paralympic medalist (nine in all, six gold medals), he was the head of the delegation to Colombia and the trip would mark the end of the cycle in the entity. Luiz Cláudio’s death came the day before his debut in the Americas Championship.

Brazil have been drawn into Group B of the World Cup, in the same bracket as Australia, Japan (current champions and bronze in Tokyo), Canada, Colombia and hosts Denmark. In Group A were Great Britain (current Paralympic champions), the United States, France, New Zealand, Switzerland and Germany. The first two in each bracket advance to the semi-finals. The teams that occupy the third and fourth places will face each other in a knockout for the fifth position, while the teams that are in the bottom two of the respective groups will face each other for the ninth place of the championship.

To Paris

The World Cup is the first step towards Paris, as the winner secures an early place for the Games. The next opportunity will be at the Parapan in Santiago (Chile) next year, which qualifies the gold medalist for the Paralympic Games – if the same team is world champion, the second takes the place. For Brazil, arriving in France would be historic, as the only Paralympic participation was in 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, as host country.

In the Tokyo cycle, the Brazilians disputed, in March 2020, the world repechage in Vancouver (Canada). The tournament featured seven teams, in a consecutive points system, in which the top four qualified for the semi-finals and the two runners-up qualified for the Games. However, the selection did not resist the Swiss, Germans, Canadians, French, Colombians and Swedes.

modality

Wheelchair rugby is practiced by men and women, without breakdown by gender, quadriplegics or with a high degree of physical and motor disability. Competitors are divided into seven classes, ranging from 0.5 to 3.5, varying every half point. The lower the category number, the greater the handicap. The sum of the classes of athletes on the field (four per team) cannot exceed eight.

The game has four eight-minute periods and is played on a basketball-sized field (15 meters wide by 28 meters long). To score, athletes must cross the opponent’s goal line with both wheels of the chair and the ball (which resembles volleyball) in hand.

With information Agência Brasil