Stewart proud of efforts at Pan Am Youth Champs

Despite not advancing to the semi-finals, President of the Jamaica Hockey Federation Fabian Stewart is beaming with joy over the men and women's teams' showing at the Pan American Youth Championships in Mexico thus far.

The women's team lost four of their five matches. They were annihilated by Urugauy and Argentina in the first two matches 10-0 and 15-0, respectively. They also lost 4-1 and 5-0 to Paraguay and Mexico before playing to a 1-1 draw against Guatemala. The girls will take on the Guatemalans in their final match on March 17 for the fifth position.

The men were a little bit more competitive in their encounters, having won one of the four matches they have played thus far, beating the Dominican Republic 5-3 in their second match.

In their first match, they were edged 4-2 by Brazil and lost to the Canadians 3-0 after holding them nil for the first half of the encounter. Host Mexico stamped their authority on the young Jamaicans, though, trouncing them 7-1 in the last match.

They will also take on Guatemala in their final match.

Before the championships, Stewart told The Gleaner that his federation would be focusing on this cohort to achieve their main objective, which is to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.