by Ian Marshall, Editor (interviews by Mauricio Traviño)

Much is expected of the Chilean Men’s Team, not only are they competing on home soil, they are the no.2 seeds behind defending champions Brazil.

Orchestrated by Marco Nuñez, the always smiling national coach, they select from Felipe Olivares, Juan Lamadrid, Gustavo Gomez and Alfonso Olave; notably they have just completed a week long training session organized under the auspices of the Chilean National Olympic Committee.

Expectations are high and it would seem the players are in confident mood, ready for the contests that await.

“We have been training very thoroughly and already preparing the final details for the tournament. We all hope to gain a place on the podium, we have worked for that and we believe that we will take our chances.” Juan Lamadrid

Furthermore, the Men’s Team is not without experience in the tournament, one year ago when the event was staged in the Cartagena de Indias, the same four players were on duty.

However, they will be seeking better fortunes on home soil; the visit to the shores of the Mediterranean was not to prove the most rewarding experience. In Colombia, they suffered a somewhat surprise three-two defeat in the group phase when facing Paraguay and the same outcome at the quarter-final stage when opposing Argentina, the eventual silver medallists. In Santiago, there is an inner determination to set the record straight

Play in the Men’s Team event concludes on Thursday 22nd November.