ARGENTINA MAINTAINS HEGEMONY IN MEN’S FIELD HOCKEY

This is the eleventh gold medal Los Leones has won at the Pan American Games and the fourth they have won consecutively.

They qualify for Paris 2024, which represents the thirteenth opportunity at the Olympic Games.

Argentina has once again become the newest men’s field hockey champion at the Pan American Games. The Lions won the eleventh medal and the fourth gold medal in a row, adding to those of Guadalajara 2011, Toronto 2015, Lima 2019 and Santiago 2023.

Confirming its dominance and favoritism, Argentina beat Chile 3-1 and secured the contested berth for the Paris 2024 Pan American Games, marking its thirteenth Olympic Games qualification in the sport.

With this medal, Argentina wins its fifth gold medal in Santiago 2023.

“We are happy to have achieved the year’s goal, that’s why we were training. Finishing it this way is spectacular. The truth is that we would have liked to have been a little less tense and tight, but we knew the match was going to be like that. I think that in the face of this adversity we were and remained strong,” said Maico Casella, selected for “Los Leones”.

The Devils appeared in their first Pan American Games gold final in a performance considered historic.

“Our plan was fulfilled, which was to be able to attack Argentina, but unfortunately we couldn’t get the draw or the victory we wanted. In the end, we left everything on the field and came away satisfied with the silver medal,” said goalkeeper Adrián Henríquez, who was the hero of the semi-final against Canada.

CANADA TOOK THE BRONZE

Canada beat the United States 2-1 and won the bronze medal. The Canadians won the second bronze medal at the Pan American Games and thus ended the historic conflict with Argentina for gold that had lasted since the 1975 Pan American Games.

“It’s definitely not the medal we wanted, but here we are, we still have a chance to qualify for the Olympics, which is super rewarding. I think we should be very proud of what we did today, we are a good team and it’s definitely a good sign to look forward to the new year,” said Canadian midfielder Brendan Guraliuk.

By Natalia Almonacid and Benjamín Iturra