Mexico’s 17-year-old goalkeeper Nancy Gamboa aims to keep showing her form at the Youth Olympics – in front of hero Luciana Aymar.
The Argentinian is a Buenos Aires 2018 ambassador who will spend time with the young athletes and share her sport experiences when the October event is staged for future budding Olympians.
Gamboa said: “To participate in the Youth Olympic Games is a dream that I’ve always wanted to fulfil.
“It would be a good opportunity to continue representing Mexico, to evaluate ourselves against the best in the world and demonstrate the quality of our hockey.”
Gamboa shone in the Youth Pan American Hockey 5s as part of Mexico’s team and was named best goalkeeper at the Pan American tournament.
“It feels nice when something you’ve dreamed of for so long becomes reality”, she added.
Now she knows that she will be rubbing shoulders with Aymar, who was billed as the equivalent of Lionel Messi in world hockey.
Gamboa said: “She’s a great inspiration to all girls who are starting to play hockey. She’s an example of how with strength, training and dedication you can achieve anything”.
Argentina clinched the qualification trophy but as hosts, Uruguay made it to the final while Mexico celebrated a third-place finish.
“To participate in the Youth Olympic Games is a dream that I’ve always wanted to fulfil. It would be a good opportunity to continue representing Mexico, to evaluate ourselves against the best in the world and demonstrate the quality of our hockey”, the 17-year-old keeper told buenosaires.com.
“The team was very united both on and off the field. We’ve worked with discipline since we started training. National hockey has improved in recent generations. There’s a good quality of players”.
