The 2019 Pan American Games will take place from 29 July to 10 August and, at the end of that time, we will know who has qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with the winner of the men’s and women’s event adding their names to that of host nation Japan.
Here we take a look at the eight teams participating in the women’s competition, assessing their chances of reaching the top of the podium. With many of our teams being active in the recent FIH Pro League and Series Finals, it is true to say that there is a lot of uncertainty about who is likely to end up on the medal winners’ podium, with many teams taking huge strides forwards on the back of increased and wider ranging international competition.
It is always difficult to look past Argentina (World Ranking:3) at this event, although Las Leonas have not won the past two editions, losing out to USA in 2011 and 2015. Prior to that point, Argentina had won the event on six consecutive occasions.
At the end of 2018, head coach Carlos Retegui returned to the fold following a poor performance by the team at the women’s World Cup in London. Another welcome return to the squad was that of Carla Rebecchi, one of Argentina’s superstar strikers and a much needed stabilising factor for the squad.
Since Retegui and Rebecchi returned, Las Leonas have had mixed results. They were the first team to qualify for the much-heralded Grand Finals of the inaugural FIH Pro League but two consecutive losses, on shoot-out, to Australia and then Germany, meant they finished fourth in that event. With experienced players such as Silvinia d’Elia, Florencia and Agustina Habif, the returning Delfina Merino and goalkeeper Belen Succi in the squad, Argentina will always be a threat but there is just a suggestion that the newer recruits are taking longer to settle and fragilities can appear when a match is not going to plan.
The reigning champions, USA, have a lot of work to do to turn around a disastrous FIH Pro League campaign. The slow slide of the USA down the rankings began when the team failed to qualify out of the pool stages at the women’s World Cup in London last year. A last place finish in the Pro League sees USA slip to 13th in the rankings – a position they haven’t been in since 2010. Head coach Janneke Schopman spoke of ‘rebuilding the squad’ and how much the team had learnt over the Pro League season but the young team will need to make some major strides forward in the next few weeks and put all that learning to good use if they are to hold onto their title.
That said, USA has some hugely talented players within its ranks and if Schopman can add her own tactical nous to the technical skill and speed of players such as Mackenzie Allessie, Anna Dessoye and Erin Matson, then USA could turn things around. They have proved time and again that resilience is not something any USA squad lacks.
The next highest ranked team participating in Lima will be Chile (WR:15). The team has recently returned from the FIH Series Finals in Hiroshima, where they experienced mixed fortunes. They finished second in their pool behind Russia and then beat PAHF neighbours Uruguay in the quarter-finals. This victory set them up for an encounter with India – ranked 9th in the world. Chile played well but lost 4-2 in a competitive game. They then regrouped to beat Russia on shoot-out to claim third place.
Speaking after the match against India, coach Sergio Vigil said he believed the FIH Series Finals would have given the Chile side a new level of experience and developed their ability to manage tournament situations and associated stresses.
And long-serving captain to the Chile team Camila Caram, is confident her side has what it takes to pose a real threat to the higher ranked nations. “I see how much all the girls in the team have sacrificed to be where we are now. We have great hopes and dreams for the Pan American Games, because if we win the tournament, we get the chance to go to the Olympic Games in Japan, which is a team goal and has been a personal dream for a long, long time.”
The exciting thing about the Pan American Games is always the threat of the unexpected and this could well be offered up by Canada’s Wolf Pack. Canada has a silver (in 1991) and four bronze medals from previous Pan American Games, but this year the team has to be approaching the competition with an additional swagger. A consistent string of good performances at the FIH Series Finals in Valencia means Canada have already earned the right to play an Olympic qualifier later in the year. The way the squad took apart higher ranked Italy in the all-important semi-finals to earn a place in the Olympic qualifiers showed just how far the squad has come in a short year. As Spanish hockey journalist Jordi Pi remarked on watching Canada’s performance in Valencia: “It only takes for Argentina or USA to have an ‘off’ day and Canada could make them pay.”
Uruguay are another team that has seen recent FIH Series Finals action. At the same event in Japan as Chile, Uruguay put in some good performances to draw with Poland and beat Fiji but they came unstuck against India and Chile before losing to Poland in shoot-out during the 5/6th place match. Coach Nicolas Tixe is working hard to make his squad competitive and with players such as Manuela del Vilar, Janine Stanley and Camila Piazza they have a bedrock of experience and talent but it will take a huge effort for Uruguay to usurp their higher ranked rivals.
The third PAF team in Hiroshima for the Series Finals was Mexico, who finished seventh after beating Fiji in their final match. The Mexico team, under the guidance of former international umpire Arely Castellanos, have ambitions to rise up the rankings and to rediscover a hockey heritage that saw them compete in three World Cups - 1974, 1976 and 1981. Striker and captain Michel Navarro has already made a name for herself as a danger player after becoming the top scorer for all the FIH Series Open events with 15 goals to her name.
Host nation Peru is seeking to use the Pan American Games as a catalyst for growing hockey in the region. President of the Peru Hockey Federation is Gianni Delucchi, and he outlines his ambitions for the sport: “We are going to rekindle and develop the passion for hockey that we have always had in South America and look to shorten the gaps between us [Peru] and the other, higher-ranked countries in the Pan American zone.”
This might not be Peru’s (WR:38) year in terms of winning medals but, if the spectacle of world class players plying their trade on the new pitches in Lima inspires a new generation of young hockey stars then Peru will be a winner in a different but whole relevant respect.
The eighth team taking its place at the 18th Pan American Games is Cuba ((WR:63). When they take their place at the event this year it will be Cuba’s seventh appearance at the Games. In previous editions the team from the Caribbean has finished mid-table, with a high point in 1995 when the team finished fourth. At the last edition, Cuba finished in eighth place and looking at the quality of the opposition, anything higher this time around will be a huge bonus for the Cuban side.
It is Cuba who starts the action when they take on Canada on 29 July. They are joined in Pool A by Argentina and Uruguay. Pool B comprises USA, Chile, Mexico and Peru. Hockey fans in Lima are guaranteed all the drama, excitement and tension associated with both fierce rivalries between competitive neighbours and a battle for a place at the Olympic Games.
