Argentina’s Froilan Padilla said his future was at stake in a Paralympic 5-a-side soccer bronze-medal match.
“It will be the match of my life,” Padilla said, according to Rio 2016.
It was not hyperbole.
Argentines who earn medals also receive pensions after the age of 40.
This fact is especially significant for the 37-year-old Padilla, who struggled for many years without basic shelter.
“I was unemployed and I slept in churches, in different houses,” said Padilla, who has congenital visual impairment.
So Padilla knew the importance of Argentina’s semifinal against Iran on Thursday.