Two-time Pan American champion in squash! Diego Elías gives Peru its eighth gold medal in Santiago 2023.

With total superiority. Diego Elías once again demonstrated that he is the king of squash, after winning the gold medal in the final against Colombian Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, at the Pan American Games Santiago 2023 . Although he didn't do so well in the second set, the 'Puma' managed to recover and add another gold medal to Team Peru, which now has eight medals to climb to eighth place in the medal table.

The match started after 5 pm. Diego had in mind to repeat his success, just like he did in Lima 2019. The first set started well, with Diego taking a two-point lead before the match became more intense; finally, he won 11-4, demonstrating his level. However, he had difficulties in the second set, as Rodríguez imposed his game, obstructing and discomforting the 'Puma', who only managed to score 7 points, while his rival took the set with 11 points.

For the third round, Diego Elías once again showed his class by earning points from the beginning and exhausting his opponent, with the set ending 11-5. Thus, he needed to win the fourth set in order to obtain the gold. The challenge was not easy, as the Colombian put pressure on our compatriot, but he did not count on Elías' strategy, which was clear: to focus on the speed of the ball.

This is how the current number two in the world, according to the PSA World Tour ranking, was able to mark a clear difference point by point in the fourth set until he finally won the gold medal. With this result, the Peruvian representative becomes a two-time champion in this discipline, repeating his success in the Pan American Games held in our country, curiously, against the same rival.

Diego and Miguel Ángel have faced each other in three Pan American Games finals. The first one was in Toronto 2015, where the Colombian won the gold medal, while in Lima 2019 and now in Santiago 2023, Diego is crowned as the champion. Despite this history, both rivals have great respect for each other. In fact, after winning the gold, the 'Puma' thanked him "for having a great final. He is a great reference for me. I am very happy".

Peruvian Medals

So far, Team Peru has won eight gold medals (won by Christian Pacheco, Hugo Ruiz Calle, Kimberly García, 'Piccolo' Clemente, María Fernanda Reyes, Lucca Mesinas, Luz Mery Rojas, and Diego Elías), three silver medals (including María Luisa Doig's in fencing), and thirteen bronze medals. Thus, Peru rises to eighth place in the Pan American Games medal table.

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