Following the Canadian women booking their ticket to the 2019 Pan American Games
late last month, the very final spot for the handball competition at the multi-sport event in Lima, Peru was booked by Chile’s men on Saturday (13 April) in front of a crowd of over 2,000 people at the Polideportivo Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile.
The ‘2019 Last Chance Tournament’ saw a play-off between Chile and Colombia across two games. Matches were free to enter with a live stream provided by the Chilean Handball Federation for fans across the world to watch the dramatic action unfold.
The opening day saw host nation Chile defeat Colombia by 10 goals (36:26) in the end after leading by eight (20:12) at the break. Sebastian Restrepo tried his best for Colombia, scoring 12 but it was not to be.
In the rematch the following day, Chile extended their victory, winning 43:20 to confirm their ticket to Lima.
BM Zamora’s (ESP) Sebastian Ceballos and Istres Provence’s (FRA) Erwin Feuchtmann top-scored with 13 goals in total for Mateo Garralda’s Chile side, while Restrepo ended with 19 strikes.
Final Ranking
1 Chile (CHI)
2 Colombia (COL)
Results
Friday 12 April: Chile vs Colombia 36:26 (20:12)
Saturday 13 April: Colombia vs Chile 23:40
Chile can now start preparing for the Games which officially start on 26 July and finish on 11 August, although the handball competition starts two days earlier, running from 24 July – 3 August.
The winners of both the men’s and women’s handball tournaments qualify directly to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The draw for the handball groups at Lima 2019
took place last month and with Chile now confirming their spot, the final men’s groups are now confirmed:
Lima 2019: Men’s Handball Competition
Group A
United States of America (USA) – Winners: North Zone Play-Off
Cuba (CUB) – Winners: 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games
Argentina (ARG) – Runners-Up: 2018 South American Games
Chile (CHI) – Winners: Last Chance Tournament
Group B
Mexico (MEX) – Third Place: 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games
Puerto Rico (PUR) – Runners-Up: 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games
Brazil (BRA) – Winners: 2018 South American Games
Peru (PER) – Hosts
Photo: Fernando Salinas/Chilean Handball Federation