Most of them play in an amateur league, where love for the sport is stronger than receiving a salary for it. However, the professionalism of Argentina's softball team is not in question. Their recent world title in the Czech Republic helped them get the recognition of a system where soccer is the most popular sport. Now, they have the support of the States.

Argentina arrived at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games to claim the gold, by competing against nations with more softball tradition. For years, they have been on the podium of several continental competitions, but they hope to achieve a milestone for Argentine sport at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center.

Most of the Argentinian team members that arrived at Lima are from the Entre Ríos province, north of Buenos Aires. Many of them train for hours, in order to keep succeeding, but off the court they have a job like everyone else. Some of them, like Federico Eder, promote this sport at schools. Of course, ad honorem.

“It’s a disadvantage not to be an Olympic sport, but we haven’t given up on our goal and people still practice softball. This is the result of many years of work. Many of us play this sport since the age of 4 and come from the city of Paraná, in the province of Entre Ríos. That’s the capital of softball in Argentina. Softball is way more important there than soccer, and those who are not from the city live there too,” said Eder.

Meanwhile, Argentinian star Huemul Mata, the only player featured in a professional league, stressed the team’s perseverance. “As an amateur team, we’ve been through so many things, but we enjoy it despite all the struggles. Some of my colleagues have made sacrifices even greater than mine. Sometimes you travel only for the experience, but after the recognition we had for winning the World Cup, I feel satisfied with everything sport has given me,” said Mata.

SOFTBALL AT LIMA 2019

The Peruvian softball team will participate for the first time in the Pan American Games. After training in several Caribbean nations, Peru was able to place 6th in the Pan American ranking. Peru will make its debut against Cuba in the afternoon (16:00). Show them your support and buy your tickets at lima2019.pe/tickets.

Six teams will play in a round-robin preliminary round to move to the next stage. The sport is governed by the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) regulations. The game consists of seven innings, where each team alternates batting and fielding. Finally, the team that scores the most runs wins.

Here's the rest of the men's softball calendar:

You can buy your tickets for these matches on the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games website: www.lima2019.pewww.lima2019.pe

You can also buy your tickets at any authorized point of sale at the Metro and Wong hypermarkets and stores in the districts of Chorrillos, Independencia, La Molina, Lima, Miraflores, San Borja, San Isidro, San Juan de Miraflores, San Miguel, and Surco.  It is worth mentioning that a new point of sale has just opened at the Jockey Plaza shopping center in Santiago de Surco.

Photo gallery (click here)

The race for the Pan American podium will continue on Thursday, July 25. The Lima 2019 Pan American Games got underway with a series of riveting beach volleyball and handball matches. It is now turn for bowling, modern pentathlon, softball and squash competitions to start.

Women's preliminary handball matches, USA vs Dominican Republic (13:00-15:00), Cuba vs Puerto Rico (15:30-17:30), Peru vs Argentina (18:00-20:00) and Canada vs Brazil (20:30-22:30), are part of the sports program to take place at National Sports Village (VIDENA) in San Luis.

Beach volleyball competitions will continue today: 16 matches, in women's and men’s categories, will be held at Costa Verde Center San Miguel from 9:00 to 15:40.

JOIN US ON THE FIELD

At VIDENA, six men's doubles bowling events will be held from 9:00 to 13:00, while women’s doubles will take place from 16:00 to 20:00. Modern pentathlon will begin with the jumping events starting at 10:00 at Chorrillos Military School.

Men's softball preliminary round game between Mexico vs Argentina will go from 10:00 to 12:30 at Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center. Right after that, Venezuela and United States will clash from 13:00 to 15:30. Peru will close the session as they face off Cuba (16:00-18:30).

Finally, squash events in women’s singles, men’s singles and men’s doubles will be held from 9:00 to 15:00 at VIDENA In the quarterfinals, women’s singles will start at 18:45, while men’s singles will do so at 19:45. To learn more about the program, check out www.lima2019.pe

Let us not forget that Peruvian and international athletes need strong encouragement from us, sports fans, to win as many medals as possible.

You still have the chance to buy your tickets for any of the 26 sports that are available at lima2019.pe/tickets Some of them are: Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling, softball, boxing, archery, baseball, taekwondo, hockey, squash and surf.

Tickets for beach volleyball, shooting, volleyball, racquetball, basketball 3x3, cycling, badminton, track cycling, Basque pelota, karate, tennis, swimming, handball, table tennis and weightlifting are also available.

The cold morning could not diminish the enthusiasm of the people that went to the two beach volleyball courts located in the Costa Verde San Miguel venue. Sports’ fans enjoyed every point of the first competitions which opened the 2019 Pan American Games sports calendar.

As soon as the best duos of the continent entered the courts at the Costa Verde, the people lived the energy of their good performance. The stands were gradually filled with color and a group wearing the Peruvian football jersey started the celebration before Peru’s matches.

Then, a delegation of the Roque Sáenz Peña school joined in, and following the music and performance of the Sports Presentation team, celebrated the victories of the United States, Canada, Argentina and Costa Rica female duos. Each spike was effusively celebrated.

The Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games Organizing Committee President, Carlos Neuhaus; the President of Panam Sports, Neven Ilic; the Lima 2019 Sports Director, Gustavo San Martín, as well as the Lima 2019 Project and Infrastructure Manager Wilhelm Funcke attended the beach volleyball opening.

“Feeling Peruvian spectators cheering for us was very touching in this first competition day. We’re having a really nice experience here in Peru and we’re enjoying it a lot,” said the American athlete Jace Pardon.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL IN LIMA 2019

Beach volleyball will take place from July 24 to 30 with 32 of the best duos of the Americas at the two courts located in San Miguel. The system considers a preliminary round (with a round-robin format), quarterfinals, semifinals, finals and qualifying rounds for fifth and 16th place.

Peru women’s team will be represented by Alexandra Mendoza and Lisbeth Allca, top one of the U-20 South American ranking and fifth place at the 2019 Beach Volleyball World Championship. The Peruvian duo will compete against El Salvador, Cuba and Paraguay in its group. Meanwhile, the men’s team is formed by Bruno Seminario and Gabriel Vásquez and they will be competing against Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Venezuela.

There are still tickets available at the Pan American and Parapan American Games website: lima2019.pe/tickets. Tickets are also available at Jockey Plaza shopping center, Santiago de Surco, hypermarkets and shops of Metro and Wong in Chorrillos, Independencia, La Molina, Lima, Miraflores, San Borja, San Isidro, San Juan de Miraflores, San Miguel and Surco points of sale.

We are a few hours away from the most important multi-sport event in the continent to be staged in Peru. Competitions start on Wednesday, July 24 at 09:00 in the beach volleyball stadium of the Costa Verde San Miguel venue. That very afternoon, in Sports Center 1 at VIDENA, the first day of handball competitions will take place, gathering the best athletes in the Americas.

Two days later, on July 26, the much-awaited Opening Ceremony of the Pan American Games will take place. Such is the relevance of these Games that 110 Olympic medalists will compete at Lima 2019. This proves that the Games will be a gathering for the best athletes in the Americas. Sixty-six of the athletes participating in the coming days have won gold. These outstanding athletes have won a combined total of 155 Olympic medals, including gold, silver, and bronze.

Among the most renowned athletes that will compete in Lima is five-time Olympic champion swimmer Nathan Adrian, who picked up two gold medals at Rio 2016, one at Beijing 2008, and two at London 2012. We will also have Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce from Jamaica, winner of three gold medals (two at London 2012 and one at Beijing 2008). Her compatriot Elaine Thompson, double gold winner at Rio 2016, will also join the Games.

American female shooter Kim Rhode is another outstanding figure. She won gold in shotgun events at Atlanta 1996, Athens 2004 and London 2012.

One of the most remarkable teams is Cuba, which includes Mijaín López as flag bearer. He is part of Team Panam Sports, and a three-time gold medal winner in Greco-Roman wrestling at Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016. Rio 2016 gold-winning boxers Julio César La Cruz Peraza and Arlen López, as well as Greco-Roman wrestler Ismael Borrero Molina, will also compete at the Games.

We will also have Argentinian judoka Paula Pareto, who won gold at Rio 2016 in the -48 kg event and bronze at Beijing 2008, and Argentinian basketball player Luis Scola, who won gold at Athens 2004 and bronze at Beijing 2008. We will also have the chance to see Mariana Pajón, Colombian BMX cyclist and two-time gold winner (London 2012 and Rio 2016).

ARGENTINIAN HOCKEY

The list also includes athletes from Argentina’s hockey team, gold medalists at Rio 2016, such as Juan Manuel Vivald, Lucas Martín Vila, Pedro Ibarra, Juan Martín López, Ignacio Horacio Ortíz, Matías Enrique Paredes and Matías Alejandro Rey.

Among the most outstanding athletes we will see compete is Thiago Braz, Brazilian gold medalist in pole vault at Rio 2016. We will also have the privilege of seeing Brazilian judoka Rafaela Lopes Silva and her compatriot sailors Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze. All three were also gold medalists at Rio 2016.

HERE IS A LIST OF ALL OLYMPIC MEDALISTS TO COMPETE AT LIMA 2019

BUY YOUR TICKETS

Get your tickets to watch these events. You can buy them on the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games website: www.lima2019.pe. 

You can also buy them in the authorized points of sale at Metro and Wong in Chorrillos, Independencia, La Molina, Lima, Miraflores, San Borja, San Isidro, San Juan de Miraflores, San Miguel and Surco.  A new sales stand has been opened at Jockey Plaza shopping center in Santiago de Surco.

Lima will host the largest multi-sports event in the Americas in just three days. You cannot miss it! The Lima 2019 Pan American Games will be a colorful celebration. There are still chances for the best fanbase in the world to get tickets and root for Peruvian athletes. You will also see the continent’s best athletes in action. Some of them will compete to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Football is one of the most anticipated events for Peruvian fans because the U-22 team, made up of the best talents from the Peruvian league, will go for the gold medal under the guidance of Nolberto Solano. Alianza Lima players Kevin Quevedo and Aldair Fuentes, along with Sporting Cristal's Gianfranco Chavez and Jesus Pretel are part of the team that will seek glory in the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos stadium.

Likewise, there are other events that you cannot miss. The best wrestlers, like American world star Kyle Snyder, as well as Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling champion and Cuban legend Mijain Lopez, will compete at Miguel Grau Coliseum in Callao.

You can also watch the current men’s softball champions at the Villa María del Triunfo venue: Argentina. Meanwhile, the biggest stars of Central American and Caribbean baseball will also shine in Southern Lima. Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center will also bear witness to the excellent level of the current Olympic men’s hockey champions, the “Leones” from Argentina.

The Cuba boxing team, consisting of seven world champions and three Olympic champions, will go for the ten gold medals on the ring of Miguel Grau Coliseum. This district will also see the best taekwondo fighters in the whole world compete in the tatami of the Callao Sport Center. Peruvian representatives Marcela Castillo, Hugo del Castillo and Julissa Diez Canseco will go for the gold medal. Let’s go and cheer them up so they can achieve their dream!

Peru also has good chance of winning gold in the squash, shooting and surf events. Diego Elías, the eighth best squash players in the world, is in top form to pick up a gold medal at the VIDENA Volleyball CAR. Meanwhile, ‘Piccolo’ Clemente and nine other surfers will seek glory in Punta Rocas beach. Alessandro de Souza and Nicolás Pacheco will enthusiastically represent the Peruvian shooting team in Las Palmas shooting range.

You can also root for the women’s pair made up by Lisbeth Alca and Alexandra Mendoza, who want to earn a gold medal for Peru in the beach volleyball event. The Peruvian women's volleyball team needs support for the competition against the mighty Dominican Republic, Canada and USA teams, which will also go for the gold at Callao Sports Center.

The best female racquetball player ever will also be at the Callao Regional Sports Center. In addition, the best basketball, swimming, table tennis and karate stars will arrive in Lima to give their best performance in their respective events.

Tickets are still available for other disciplines such as Basque pelota, tennis, weightlifting and handball, with the historic derby Brazil vs. Argentina.

Ticket prices start at PEN 10, with a discount

Ticket prices start at PEN 20 or 10 for the Pan American and Parapan American Games, respectively. There will be 50% off for anyone under the age of 18, senior citizens and people with an impairment.

Fans can buy their tickets at lima2019.pe/tickets. The Lima 2019 Organizing Committee has recently installed a point of sale at Jockey Plaza Shopping Center, in Santiago de Surco. This new point of sale joins the other ten already located in Metro and Wong supermarkets, in the districts of Chorrillos, Independencia, La Molina, Lima, Miraflores, San Borja, San Isidro, San Juan de Miraflores, San Miguel and Surco.

It should be noted that 21 disciplines in the Pan American Games are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, while 13 Para sports will be qualifiers for the Paralympic Games.

Men’s softball will be one of the sports that makes its debut at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. Because of the expectation surrounding this debut, the Peruvian men’s team, that came together for this edition of the Pan American Games, has been working hard to be in optimal conditions for the competition. They are currently training in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, until Monday, July 22.

Moreover, they have gained a lot of experience with the addition of two recently naturalized Peruvian citizens, Venezuelans Eyzer Mujica and Daniel José Ramírez.

“I thank Peru for welcoming me with open arms. I will fight for the Peruvian team at the Lima 2019 Games,” stated Daniel Ramírez, who feels like a Peruvian and plays as an outfielder on the team. He has been living in Peru for four years.

Before traveling to Santo Domingo, the team trained every day to get ready for this great challenge. They trained at the Lima 2019 softball venue, the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

As a team sport, cohesion and understanding between all players are essential. “We’re not only teammates, we’re a family. We get along well and that makes us strong,” pointed out Diego Riquelme, the pitcher of the Peruvian team.

The team shared their thoughts on their rivals: “They’re the top Pan American teams. Argentina recently beat Japan, became world champion and is coming to Lima to fight for the gold medal,” said Riquelme.

“I look forward to fighting for Peru and to put my heart and soul into it. I wish the stadium was ready. Seeing the stands packed will be exciting,” added the Peruvian softball player.

ABOUT THE LIMA 2019 COMPETITION

Softball will be contested in three rounds for seven days. The first stage will have a round-robin format and the top four teams will advance to the semifinals. In these matches, the team in first place will face the one placed second, and the third will play against the fourth.

The men’s team will make its debut against Cuba on July 25, at 16:00. It will also play against Mexico on July 27 and against Venezuela on July 28. Both matches will be at 16:00. The following day, they will play against the United States at the same time, and their last match will be against Argentina on July 30, at 18:00.

The winner of the first pool advances directly to the Grand Final. Meanwhile, the loser of the first pool faces the winner of the second pool in the final. The winner of this last match qualifies to the final round, the Grand Final, and competes against the winner of the first pool for the gold medal.

The competition will take place at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center. You can buy your tickets at www.lima2019.pe/tickets or at the authorized points of sale located throughout the city.

“Please make an effort to buy your tickets and go to see us so that you can enjoy the best sport in the world,” concluded Diego Riquelme.

See the fixture