The Lions won gold at the Pan American Games and qualified for Paris 2024

The Argentine men’s field hockey team, better known as Los Leones, beat Chile 3-1 on Friday and won the gold medal at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, an achievement that secured their place for the Olympic event in Paris 2024.The team coached by Mariano Ronconi starred in an emotional match at the Field Hockey Sports Center, where they started winning with a goal by Buenos Aires striker Lucas Martínez 7 minutes into the first quarter. Argentina held the lead through the second period, but the Chilean team equalized through a penalty corner by Áxel Richter with 52 seconds left in the third quarter. Referee Ilanggo Kanabathu had disallowed a goal by ‘Los Leones’ in a previous play, which led to complaints from the visitors. In the midst of a tense atmosphere, the ‘albiceleste’ team took the lead again with a new goal by Martínez 5 minutes into the final period. With the home team launched in attack, Agustín Bugallo scored the final 3-1 for the national team. In this way, Ronconi’s team won the fourth consecutive gold medal in the Pan American Games, and the 11th in history, while qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.On their way to the final, Los Leones beat Mexico (10-1), Chile (3-1) and Peru (22-0), in Group A, and the United States (2-0) in the semifinals.

Original source in Spanish