November 5, 2023
Lausanne, Switzerland: Hockey at Pan American Games 2023 came to an end today with Argentina men and women claiming the gold medals and securing qualification to the Olympic Games Paris 2024! Both the Argentine teams defended their titles from the 2019 edition of the games. The men’s team were the first to win their gold medal, defeating Chile 3-1 in the finals. The women’s team faced USA in the finals and came away with a thrilling 2-1 win to secure their 8th gold medal at the Pan American Games.
Following Argentina’s victory in the men’s competition, second placed Chile and third placed Canada will now move on to the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024 where they will get a second opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Following Argentina’s victory in the women’s competition, USA, Chile and Canada will now move on to the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024 where they will get a second opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
In the men’s competition, Argentina and Canada went unbeaten in the pool stages securing 3 wins from their 3 contests. In Pool A, Argentina were particularly ruthless, scoring 35 goals and conceding just twice to amass a +33 goal difference from 3 games. Canada faced a much tougher challenge in Pool B, with the game against USA going down to the wire, but Canada came out 2-1 winners to seal their place at the top of Pool B. Chile and USA finished second in Pool A & B respectively with 2 wins apiece, to secure their spot in the semi-finals.
Argentina made it to the finals by easing their way past USA with a 2-0 victory, that could have been a much wider margin, but the defending champions could not capitalise on any of their 7 penalty corners in the game. The second semi-final saw Chile upset higher ranked Canada in the shoot-outs, after the teams were tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation time.
The finals saw Argentina and Chile meet for the second time in the tournament after their Pool A clash. For the second time it was Argentina who started on the front foot, taking the lead early in the first quarter. Chile managed to equalise at the end of third quarter but Argentina scored twice in the fourth quarter to win gold for the eleventh time and seal their spot at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Canada won the bronze medal match against USA to join Chile in securing a spot in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024.
Tomas Domene who top scored for Argentina at the Pan American Games, speaking after the finals, said: “It’s a dream come true, I am extremely happy. We arrived in Santiago with a goal and we achieved it. This is a group effort, and each of us gave our all to be able to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics today.”
In the women’s competition, Argentina and Chile comfortably topped their pools winning all three of their contests. In Pool A, Argentina conceded just one goal in their three games, while scoring 34 of their own. It was similar smooth sailing for Chile in Pool B, where they kept clean sheets in all three of their encounters while scoring 14 goals of their own. USA and Canada finished second in Pool A & B respectively to qualify for the semi-finals as well.
Argentina eased past Canada with a 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Valentina Raposo, Delfina Thome and Julieta Jankunas. In the second semi-final, hosts Chile were looking like strong favourites and took an early lead in the game, but another upset was on the cards as USA equalised in the final quarter and edged the shoot-out to join Argentina in the finals.
The finals was a closely contested affair. Argentina took the lead in the 12th minute via Agustina Gorzelany’s penalty corner goal, but USA struck right at the end of the first half via a penalty stroke converted by Ashley Sessa. Both sides played a cagey second half with scoring chances created few and far between. It was Argentina who took the lead back in the 51st minute via Eugenia Trinchinetti. USA mounted the pressure late on, winning two penalty corners in the final 2 minutes, while Argentina were down to 10 players as Maria Granatto received a yellow card in the 55th minute. But Argentina’s experienced defence held fort and secured the 2-1 victory to earn a record extending 8th gold medal at women’s hockey in the Pan American Games. Chile were the winners of the bronze medal, riding on the back of amazing support from the home crowd to defeat Canada 2-0.
Ace drag flicker of the Argentinian team, Agustina Gorzelany, speaking after being crowned the gold medalists at the victory ceremony said: “The truth is I’m super excited. Just talking about it makes my eyes fill with tears. I’m happy, we already have the ticket to Paris 2024. We accomplished our first objective, and I’m already looking forward to the Olympics.”
A total of 12 teams, in each of the men’s and women’s categories, will compete in Hockey at the Olympic Games. Hosts France have gained direct qualification. Australia (men and women) were winners of the Oceania Cup, which sealed their qualification, while Netherlands (men and women) qualified as the European champions. India (men) and China (women) clinched their spots at the Olympics through their gold medal victories at the Asian Games. Argentina (men and women) have now sealed their spots at the Olympics, and will be joined later today by the winners of the African Hockey Road to Paris 2024 tournament. The FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024, which will be held in January 2024, provide a second opportunity for teams to qualify for the remaining 6 spots at the Olympic Games.
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