The
11th edition of the South American Games recently concluded in Cochabamba,
Bolivia after just over two weeks of multi-sport action from 26 May-8 June. The
Games, which started back in 1978 in Bolivia, in La Paz, take place every four
years, and have featured men’s and women’s handball since the 2002 edition,
held in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.
The
2018 event saw the handball competition take place at the Coliseo Municipal
Curubamba in Canchas with the women’s competition running from 27-31 May and
the men’s edition running from 2-6 June.
Women’s Competition
Seven
teams participated initially across two preliminary groups – Argentina, Peru,
Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay. Brazil topped Preliminary Group 1
with four points from both of their matches (vs Paraguay 33:16 and Uruguay
25:15) while Argentina topped Group 2 with six points from their three
victories (vs Peru 50:8, Bolivia 49:4 and Chile 29:20).
The
top two teams in both groups faced each other in the semi-finals with Brazil
easily overcoming Chile 30:16 and Argentina squeezing past Paraguay 23:21.
However, the final was completely one-sided as the Brazilians limited their
neighbours to just 12 strikes, as they won 26:12 to defend their title won in
2014 in Chile.
Top
scorer in the tournament was Chile’s Valeska Andrea Lovera Salas with 25 goals
with Mariana Costa (BRA) second with 21 strikes and Sabrina Fiore (PAR) and
Bolivia’s Alison Castillo Pimienta on 20 goals each in third.
RESULTS
27
May
ARG
vs PER 50:8
BOL vs CHI 6:41
PAR vs BRA 16:33
28
May
PER
vs CHI 9:38
ARG
vs BOL 49:4
URU
vs PAR 22:27
29
May
CHI
vs ARG 20:29
BOL
vs PER 19:23
BRA
vs URU 25:15
May
30
Classification
Round: URU vs BOL 41:7
Semi-Final
1: BRA vs CHI 30:16
Semi-Final
2: ARG vs PAR 23:21
May
31
Classification
Round: URU vs PER 50:8
Bronze Medal: CHI vs PAR 31:25
Final:
BRA vs ARG 26:12
RANKING
1
Gold – Brazil
2
Silver – Argentina
3
Bronze – Chile
4
Paraguay
5
Uruguay
6
Peru
7
Bolivia
Men’s Competition
Like
the women’s competition, the seven men’s teams in Bolivia were split into two
Preliminary Groups. Brazil topped Group 1, winning all three of their games (vs
Peru 50:12, Bolivia 55:5 and Chile 39:30). The Chileans finished in second with
two wins against Peru and Bolivia. Argentina won Group 2 thanks to their wins
against Venezuela (36:20) and Uruguay (31:21).
The
top two teams in each group met in the semi-finals with Brazil demolishing
Uruguay 41:27 and Argentina defeating Chile 29:13, who managed to grab the bronze
medal in the 3/4 Placement Match against Uruguay, winning 23:20. The final was
a repeat of the women’s competition, but this time it was much tighter with
Brazil winning 25:22 after the teams went in all level at 10:10 at half-time.
Brazil
were also dominant in the goalscoring charts with Fabio Rocha Chiuffa finishing
top with 32 goals, his teammate Leonardo Dutra Ferreira in second (29) and
Rudolph Hackbarth in third with 26 strikes.
RESULTS
June
2
PER
vs BRA 12:50
CHI vs BOL 51:7
VEN vs ARG 20:36
June
3
CHI
vs PER 37:15
BRA
vs BOL 55:5
URU
vs VEN 22:19
June
4
BRA
vs CHI 39:30
BOL
vs PER 12:32
ARG
vs URU 31:21
June
5
Classification
Round: VEN vs BOL 44:13
Semi-Final
1: BRA vs URU 41:27
Semi-Final
2: ARG vs CHI 29:13
June
6
Classification
Round: PER vs VEN 20:29
Bronze: CHI vs URU 23:20
Final: ARG vs BRA 22:25
RANKING
1
Gold – Brazil
2
Silver – Argentina
3
Bronze – Chile
4
Uruguay
5
Venezuela
6
Peru
7
Bolivia
Photos:
Cochabamba 2018