Bidding fair to be the best drag flicker in the world, Gonzalo Peillat did much to script Argentina’s first ever Olympic gold medal victory at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
He scored 11 goals as top-scorer in the tournament goal helped wrest the initiative after Belgium took the lead.
Two years earlier, at the 2014 World Cup in The Hague, The Netherlands, Peillat top scored 10 goals to top the scorer’s list. His effort went a long way to elevating Argentina to bronze medal status and lay the foundation for the Rio epic.
Peillat, born on August 12, 1992, had shown signs that he would be central to Argentina’s surge to the top podium by winning the 2014 FIH Young Risers award.
Debuting in 2011, Peillat has now amassed 172 goals in 153 internationals, an overwhelming majority from his dreaded drag flicks.
After spending time with Club Ferrocarril Mitre in Argentina till the 2014 World Cup, Peillat moved to the Netherlands to play for HGC, setting the league afire with a top score of 33 goals in the 2015-16 season.
Peillat spent time with Kalinga Lancers and Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the Hockey India League during the Dutch winter break.
He then joined Mannheimer HC in the German league, a club he has commited to till 2021. Piellat also played or Terengganu in the Malaysian league when the HIL wasn’t held in 2018.
Differences with head coach German Orozco in January 2019 led to Peillat parting ways with the national team.
PHOTO: K. Arumugam