Buenos Aires Herald 
The Argentine men’s field hockey and handball teams bid farewell to the Olympics on Sunday, with defeats against Germany in the quarter-finals and Egypt in their last pool match respectively.
Los Leones, the men’s field hockey team, fell 3-2 against the Germans, with goals from Maico Casella and Agustín Mazzilli, in a difficult match that had fans on the edge of their seats until the end.
Argentina’s team had ended in fourth position in the pool matches, while Germany was the leader of their group. One of the German goals came from Gonzalo Peillat, an Argentine player who was part of Los Leones for eight years — winning the gold medal in the Rio 2016 Olympics with them— until he left in 2019, citing personal differences. He joined Germany’s national team in 2021 after spending several years playing there.
The teams were head to head until Germany scored six minutes before the end of the match. Three minutes later, Argentine coach Mariano Ronconi decided to change the goalie for another player to try and secure another goal, with no luck changing the score.
Handball
Argentina’s men’s handball team, Los Gladiadores, bid farewell to the Paris 2024 — for retiring players Federico Pizarro and Federico Fernández this was unfortunately goodbye to the Olympics.
“I am proud of what I did. Now it’s time for the new kids to take my spot,” said Federico Fernández after the game, quoted by the Argentine Olympic Committee.
After four defeats against European teams, Argentina was beaten by the current African champions who are enjoying the spotlight as the revelation of the Olympics in handball. Although the Gladiadores took the first half of the game 15-14, the Egyptians won out in the end with a score of 34-27.
Track and field
Two Argentines also competed in track and field on Sunday, a sport with usually low participation of South American athletes. Belén Casetta ended in the 34° place in the 3000-meter steeplechase race and did not make the finals. Elián Larregina ended sixth in his heat for the 400-meter race and will compete for a place in the semifinals.
“I am sorry for what I just did,” a heartbroken Casetta told the press after the race. “I couldn’t make it and it was my fault.”
