Argentina’s Rugby Sevens team delivers first medal of Tokyo 2020
First medal of the Olympics for Argentina, as Pumas defeat Britain to take third and seal bronze.
Argentina’s Rugby Sevens team this week delivered the country’s first medal of Tokyo 2020 Olympics, after defeating Great Britain in the event’s third-place play-off.
The Pumas secured a bronze medal with Wednesday’s victory, which came just hours after the side had lost 26-14 to Fiji – the Olympics Champions five years ago in Brazil – in a semi-final clash. It also paid back Britain, who had defeated Argentina in the Rio 2016 quarters.
“To win the first medal for the country is a great source of pride. Before the game we told ourselves that we were going to play for something bigger. We played for ourselves, for our families, for our friends, for a giant country,” said Rodrigo Etchart, one of Los Pumas medalists, after the match.
The third-place play-off opened at a rip-roaring pace, with Argentina falling behind early. Ben Harris crossed the line within 40 seconds for Britain for a try, before Pumas scrum-half Lautaro Bazán Vélez responded with a cheeky snip down the blindside.
One of the tournament’s standout players, the Pumas’ Marcos ‘Rayo’ Moneta – a Youth Olympic Games gold medallist – added a second and his sixth of the tournament, with Santiago Mare converting to make it 12-7 at half-time.
Ollie Lindsay-hague and Ignacio Mendy then swapped scores before British captain Dan Libby was caught in possession and the whistle was blown, leaving Los Pumas delighted.
Moneta, just 21, finished the tournament as top scorer. He called the bronze-medal showing “a dream come true. It was what we were looking for, to get on the podium. We are really happy to get the bronze medal. I can’t describe how we’re feeling, it’s crazy.”
He added: “You saw on Tuesday [in the 19-14 victory in the quarter-final against South Africa, in which Los
Pumas finished with just five players on the field) what this team is like and we showed it again today. We are very happy.”
Argentina had to play twice on the same day to seal bronze after their 2614 semi-final loss to Fiji a few hours earlier.
The reigning champions took a 12-0 lead in the first half, but the Pumas came back with two tries from Moneta and another Ignacio Mendy, adding conversions to lead 14-12 at the break.
The Fijians, however, responded strongly in the second half, scoring two tries and conversions to come out on top 26-14.
After seeing off Argentina, Fiji went on to defend their Olympic rugby sevens title with an entertaining 27-12 victory over New Zealand at the Tokyo Stadium on Wednesday.
OTHER SPORTS
Elsewhere, the Men’s basketball team suffered two defeats in the group stage, with a final third match against Japan due to take place on Sunday.
In boxing, Mirko Cuello scored one victory before going out of the men’s featherweight in the Round of 16, while Francisco Verón went out at the same stage in the men’s middleweight section.
In Mountain Biking, Sofia Gomezvillafañe finished 23rd in the women’s cross-country section, while in Taekwondo, Lucas Guzmán was unlucky not to claim a bronze medal, finishing fourth.
In Judo, Emmanuel Lucenti exited early but all eyes were on double Olympic medalist Paula Pareto, one of Argentina’s star performers in recent Games. She sadly departed the stage in tears after failing to clinch a medal this time out. Pareto, who took gold at Rio 2016, is expected to retire and remains undecided about what lies ahead.
In Tennis, none of Argentina’s representatives made it beyond the Round of 16, despite some pre-tournament optimism. The nation’s Men’s Volleyball team failed to progress beyond the group stage on the beach, with the indoor event still ongoing at the time of writing.
The Men’s Handball team also failed to make it beyond the group, suffering four straight defeats, including a tight loss to Brazil.
In Swimming, none of Argentina’s representatives managed to break into the top 15 in the heats and advance into the final rounds.
Plenty of Games still to go though and fans will hoping the nation’s Olympians will be able to secure a few more medals before Tokyo 2020 draws to a close.