No Worlds for Canada

June 30th, 2008

After losing to Argentina in the second match, Canada needed to win their third game against Chile to have a shot at the 2009 World Championships in Croatia. Unfortunately, Canada lost the game, and their chance to go to Worlds, 28-23.

Despite the disheartening loss, several players made a strong showing on the court, namely Alexis Bertrand (9 goals), Charles Bariteau (5 goals), and Maxime Godin (4 goals). To read the Sportcom article (in French), please click here.

Team Canada played their final game against Uraguay on Friday to determine the final placement, and unfortunately, despite a close game, the Canadians lost for a fourth time 21-23. At the end of the tournament, Canada finished 7th, meaning they will have to compete in a qualifying tournament with other low-ranked teams in order to earn the chance to play in the 2010 Pan American Championships.

On a positive note, Alexis Bertrand, who is currently playing professional handball (D2- Saintes) in France, finished the last game with an impressive 10 goals, putting him on the list of highest scorers for the tournament. While he made a consistantly strong showing throughout the tournament, team captain Sebastian Fyfe acknowledges that "Alexis can't do it alone, all of the players need to be able to contribute offensively."

To read the Sportcom article (in French) regarding the final match, please click here.

See the the final results, click here