“Le Parisien” now proposes to announce to you, before each weekend, all the sporting issues and events not to be missed in Île-de-France.
The poster of the weekend: PSG-Nîmes
HANDBALL. The Parisian marathon continues this Sunday (5 p.m.) in Coubertin. Three days after obtaining a very important success in the Champions League against Flensburg, the players of Raul Gonzalez find the team of Nîmes. Qualified since Thursday for the round of 16 on the European scene, they have the opportunity to almost definitively crush the competition in the league with an 18th consecutive success, before stringing together a series of five games during the first half of March. However, they must be wary of the Nîmes.
Only 8th in the standings, Michaël Guigou and his teammates are particularly unpredictable. Uncomfortable at home, the Gardois like to tickle their opponents away from home. In their cage, Vincent Gérard and Yann Genty will have to be wary of the great form of Mohammad Sanad, current top scorer in the championship (132 goals).
The man to watch: Antonin Rouzier
VOLLEY. At 35, the French volleyball international never stops defying time. The man with 243 selections, whom no one wanted last summer, joined the promoted du Plessis-Robinson and built his own story in parallel. This Saturday (6 p.m., Espace Omnisports), against Arago Sète (3rd), the 2015 European champion intends to confirm with his friends, now 11th in the Ligue A standings, the fine performance of last weekend ( 3-0) against Montpellier (4th). “I found the values of a family club, healthy, that’s what I was looking for,” said Antonin Rouzier not so long ago in our pages. It’s time to go support the Hauts-de-Seine team which will continue in the league with Nantes-Rezé, Narbonne, and Cannes the red lantern.
The touch of originality: the wheelchair rugby Euro
RUGBY. This is the attraction of this Saturday if you pass, by chance, on the side of Halle-Carpentier (13th arrondissement). Since Tuesday, the wheelchair rugby Euro has been held there, with the France team and seven other nations. Victorious in their first three group matches against Switzerland (49.32), Denmark (50-46) and Russia (60-37), the Habs (6th in the world rankings) qualified for the final this Friday in leaving Germany (55-42). They will play the title at 4 p.m. against Great Britain (3rd nation in the world) or Denmark.
This unique sport, which is played with a volleyball, combines certain elements of basketball, handball and ice hockey. The objective of the game is very simple: it consists in scoring, for the four players of a team on the field, as many tries as possible by crossing the opposing line in possession of the ball. The shocks are numerous and there is no dead time. Officially recognized in 1994 by the International Paralympic Committee, wheelchair rugby was first included in the program in Sydney in 2000.
To be eligible for wheelchair rugby, athletes must have a disability with impairment of the legs and arms. Most players have spinal cord injuries with complete or partial paralysis of the legs or partial paralysis of the arms, but also other disabilities including cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, amputation, poliomyelitis and others neurological disorders. With another particularity: men and women can compete in the same teams and in the same competitions.
The gym to go to: the gymnasium of La Butte Verte in Noisy-le-Grand
GYMNASTIC. We don’t know it, but the French gymnastics championship (called Top 12 because it brings together the twelve best clubs in the country) has just started, at least for boys (in March for girls). After Franconville (Poule 1) who won (33-15) at home against Oyonnax on the first day two weeks ago, it’s Noisy-le-Grand’s turn to start their competition this Saturday against in Orléans (from 3:30 p.m.), with floor, rings and parallel bars as the apparatus. Vice-champion of France (beaten by a breath by Antibes-Juan-les-Pins), the “Green Team” revolves around the Borello family. Georges, the dad, is one of the coaches of Florentin and Antoine, his two sons. The second is no stranger. A member of the France team, he was a substitute at the last Tokyo Games. A victory is desired for the Noiséens, before going to Vélizy on March 12th.
The program
HANDBALL. Starligue : Créteil – Chartres (Friday, 8 p.m., Oubron sports hall); PSG – Nîmes (Sunday, 5 p.m., Pierre-de-Coubertin stadium). Proligue : Ivry – Cherbourg (Friday, 8.30 p.m., Auguste-Delaune gymnasium); Massy – Valence (Friday, 8.30 p.m., Pierre-de-Coubertin sports center); Villeurbanne – Pontault (Friday, 8:30 p.m.). Butagaz League : Mérignac – Paris 92 (Friday, 8 p.m.).
ICE HOCKEY. Magnus League: Cergy-Pontoise – Nice (Friday, 8.30 p.m.).
RUGBY. Women’s Elite 1: Bobigny – Stade Toulousain (Sunday, 3 p.m., Henri-Wallon stadium).
VOLLEYBALL. League A: Plessis-Robinson – Sète (Saturday, 6 p.m., Espace Omnisports); Tours – Paris (Sunday, 5 p.m.). Women’s A League: Paris Saint-Cloud – Aix-Venelles (Saturday, 8 p.m., Geo-André gymnasium, Paris XVI).
