WHEN they arrive in Guyana to participate in the Pan American Indoor Championships, two-time women’s champions, Argentina, will be among the favourites to win the title.

The championships which commences on October 14, at the refurbished Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, will see Argentina, also known as Las Leonas or the Lionesses, join another two-time champion, Canada, along with USA, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Barbados, Mexico and host Guyana, as the participants in the women’s category.

Argentina, the country that has produced eight-time world player of the year, Luciana Aymar, dubbed the Maradona of hockey and someone who is recognised the world over as one of the greatest female players ever, will no doubt be aiming to capture the title and qualify for the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup, scheduled for February 2018 in Berlin, Germany.

The Argentine star was so internationally recognisable that at one stage she was described as being more marketable than German tennis legend, Steffi Graf, and snapping on the heels of Venus Williams.

Argentina is currently ranked 13th in the world, four places behind top ranked PAHF member Canada, that has a ranking of 9th, while Uruguay, who has been the surprise of the Region, is placed at 18th.

The powerhouse South American nation has been amongst the best teams in field hockey, appearing in five Hockey World Cup finals, including the first final in 1974, which they lost 1–0 to the Netherlands.

They had to settle for second place in two more finals before winning the tournament for the first time in 2002, beating the Netherlands 4–3 in the final on penalty strokes after a 1–1 draw.

Led by Aymar, Argentina was again the winner in 2010, beating the Netherlands 3–1.

At a continental level, Argentina has dominated and won every tournament they played, including the Pan American Cup and the Pan American Games, leaving the United States in second place in most of the events, until they lost the 2011 Pan American Games final for the first time.

No matter who is in front of them, the Argentines will definitely be a force to reckon with at the upcoming championships.