Another Paris 2024 ticket to be delivered at the 2023 Pan American Games

Another step towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be made next week, as the fourth ticket for the men’s competition will be awarded to the winner of the Pan American Games, which will take place between 30 October and 4 November in Viña del Mar, Chile.

All the previous four champions in the competition – Argentina, Brazil, Cuba and the United States of America – will be at the start, with the competition dominated by the South American powerhouses in the last five editions, with Brazil taking three titles (2003, 2007 and 2015), and Argentina being crowned champions twice (2011 and 2019).

Brazil are the only side to have won a medal in each of the previous nine editions of the Pan American Games, having played the final in all the editions bar the inaugural one in 1987 and the last one in 2019, when they sealed the bronze medal. But with a crucial Paris 2024 Olympic Games ticket on the line, the South American side will be aiming higher and higher.

Between the eight sides taking part in the competition, Brazil have finished on the highest position at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship last January, ending up in 17th place. The South American side will have plenty of talent at their disposal, including stars Haniel Langaro, Rogerio Moraes and Thiagus Petrus, but also rising stars Hugo Bryan Monte dos Santos, who shined at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship last summer.

Brazil have been drawn into Group A, where they face Chile, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, being clear favourites to secure the first place in the group, as they will aim to avenge the loss against Chile in the semi-finals of the last edition, which saw Brazil fail to seal the ticket for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

That place was taken by Argentina, who finished 12th at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. However, the South American side, the reigning champions in the Pan American Games, finished in 19th place at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, with two wins in six matches.

Since then, Argentina lost the continental title at the 2022 South and Central American Men's Handball Championship, after conceding a 17:20 loss in the final against rivals Brazil, but will once again be favourites in Group B, where they face Cuba, the United States of America and Uruguay.

Cuba are one of the former champions in the competition, but have been buoyed by their win at the 2023 IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, while the United States of America have also been improving dramatically in the last years, securing their maiden two wins at the IHF Men’s World Championship at Poland/Sweden 2023 in January.

The top two sides in each group will progress to the semi-finals, scheduled for 3 November, while only the winning team clinches a place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The finalists will secure a place in the Olympic Qualification Tournaments in March 2024.