After a tie in the last minutes and a better performance in the shoot-out on penalties, the Mexican squad defeated Cuba on Wednesday and was crowned the new field hockey champion at the San Salvador 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Las Tunas, Cuba.-The setback of the women's team in the sub-venue of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, completed the gray performance of the sport of sticks in the regional competition: the two Cuban teams arrived as current monarchs but ended up losing to Mexico in decisive instances. The men's team could not even reach the title dispute, after falling in the semifinals on Tuesday.
The duel between the Island players and the Aztecs remained scoreless until minute 34 when Sunailys Nikle, from Las Tunas, scored from a penalty corner. As it happened in the match of the qualifying phase, which ended with a two-goal tie, the green and red teams equalized at the end with a goal by Sofía Pérez, in fraction 57.
In the outcome of shoot-out penalties, Mexico prevailed 3-2 and snatched the area crown from Cuba.
Besides Nikle, two other athletes became Central American and Caribbean runners-up: Alexyane Ramírez and Yunia Milanés, the latter currently based in the city of Camagüey.
