Argentina is a country where a lot of European sports like rugby are practiced

By 1869, 12.1% of the population of Argentina was foreign. In 1914, the percentage was 30.3%, as explained by Historia y Biografías. This implied not only a change in the policies to face the growth in the population, but also the great number of immigrants influenced the Argentine culture.

Leer en español: 3 deportes en los que Argentina es una potencia latinoamericana

In fact, many of the most practiced sports in Argentina are not known or are very little practiced in the rest of South America, as is the case of rugby, field hockey, polo, tennis, to name a few. In LatinAmerican Post we present you some of them.

Field hockey

Argentina was the first country in South America where this sport was practiced. Field hockey was introduced by British immigrants through their English schools and then was passed on to the inhabitants through time. The repercussion that this sport has had has not been left only in men, women have also taken field hockey.

Las Leonas is a women's hockey team that has been a champion twice, in 2002 and 2010. In addition, according to Telam, her captain Luciana Aymar has been chosen seven times as the best player in the world.

Rugby

Rugby is one of the most played sports in Argentina. According to Tucuman Rugby Club, there is no exact date when this sport began to be played in the country, but there are those who claim that it was in 1873. The first players were British and descendants of English and Irish.

Argentina has participated in eight rugby world championships and is a Latin American power. However, it is not the only country in South America that practices it. Chile and Uruguay also make an effort to participate and excel in this sport. Due to the proximity to Argentina, Bolivia has also been influenced, according to La Información.

You can also read: The future of field hockey comes with the Argentine "Leonas"

Polo

According to Argentina Polo Day, polo arrived in Argentina with the English, who found in the people enough aptitudes and skills to achieve success in the sport.

Argentina is known as the best country in polo. In fact, of the nine players with the highest handicap, eight are Argentine, as the same media mentions. The success lies also in the care and control of crossing horses to maintain purity and remain outstanding worldwide, especially in speed.

Undoubtedly, Argentina has potential in many sports that in the rest of South America remain asleep or little exploited. Tennis is also an example of this, currently with Juan Martín del Potro as number 3 in the ranking of the best tennis players in the world, according to the ATP World Tour.

The potential in South American countries exists, it just takes a little bit of dedication and encourage the teaching of different sports and disciplines in children and young people, not just the most common and well-known sports.

LatinAmerican Post | Daniela Escalante

Translated from "3 deportes en los que Argentina es una potencia latinoamericana"

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