The Chilean team could not beat the trans-Andean team in the final and was left with a creditable silver medal at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, after losing 27-31.
The silver medal is the greatest achievement of the Chilean handball team at the Pan American level, after the bronze medals won in Guadalajara 2011 and Toronto 2015.
Argentina, for its part, in addition to the Lima 2019 gold, achieved qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Chile started erratically in a frantic duel, allowing Argentina to take a four-goal lead in the first minutes.
After a time out requested by coach Mateo Garralda, Chile recovered and little by little closed the gap, reaching a goal lead, with Erwin Feutchmann exercising his scoring leadership and Felipe Barrientos enduring the trans-Andean siege in the goal. However, the temporary expulsions in the epilogue of the first half hurt Chile, which gave the advantage to the albiceleste.
For the second half, anxiety once again played against us. The Chileans hurried and were unable to convert for six minutes. Argentina, meanwhile, had luck on their side, as the stick saved them on several occasions and they managed to capitalize on their opportunities against a unfocused defense.
In the epilogue, the Gladiators had a seven-goal advantage, but Chile gained strength and added excitement by closing the gap, remaining 27-30, with just over a minute at stake. Almost at the end, an erratic penalty charge liquidated Chilean hopes and consolidated the victory of Argentina, which celebrated a new gold and a direct ticket to the Olympic event in Japan.
Photo: Lima Press 2019
