Argentina is massively enthusiastic about playing and watching sports. Regardless of whether it’s supporting their neighborhood school football group or shouting at the TV amid the Super Bowl, the sport is the thing that unites the Argentina people group. In the course of the most recent 20 years, wearing TV figures have expanded significantly with the consistent real headways in present day innovation. You would now be able to stream a live session of the ball on your telephone or iPad while out for a run.
Football
Football is without a doubt the most imperative game in Argentina. The national football group was delegated best on the planet twice on account of the endeavors of the incredible footballer Diego Maradona, who has since passed the light to the well-known Lionel Messi. On the off chance that you cherish football and you are in Buenos Aires, don’t miss the chance to go to a Superclassical, i.e. a match between rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate. The environment at these diversions is basically electric.
Water sports
You can appreciate numerous watersports, including water skiing, cruising, kayaking and wilderness boating, in specific parts of the nation, for example, Tigre, Santa Fe, and Corrientes, which are all strategically placed on the banks of the Paraná River. At that point, there’s Mar del Plata, Argentina’s most well-known shoreline, a bustling resort with each sort of watersport on offer. Down south, in Patagonia, you additionally have the Lake District, which is home to a portion of the nation’s most stupendous landscape. Individuals come here to angle and appreciate the cool, crisp scenes made by the woodlands and pools of Argentina’s biggest national stop.
Car Racing
Argentina is home to the longest-running race arrangement on the planet, the Turismo Carretera street tourism, a noteworthy yearly occasion that began with daring Argentinians taking part in a long race on open streets. Engine races additionally expanded in ubiquity in Argentina because of Juan Manuel Fangio, who was title holder of the Grand Prix five times in the 1950s. Argentines are likewise devotees of the tiresome Dakar rally, which has been held in South America since 2009.
Pato
Although soccer is the most popular sport in Argentina but Pato is the national sport. The sport goes back to the 17th century. Pato involves horseman riding on horses with handle sticks, trying to throw a ball into goals. Furthermore, the rider is required to reach down, pick the ball up, and throw it in the goal. Even if they are at full gallop, the game requires the horsemen to pull away from the opposing team in order to win.
In addition to that, Pato has over the years experienced criticism based on animal cruelty. However, it has continued to be played in Argentina from time to time again. Many players have gotten into accidents and severe injuries while playing this game. However, it continues to remain the national sport of Argentina.
Rugby
Ruby in Argentina was introduced by the British back in 1870. Today, it has become a popular sport in the country. The national rugby team, the Pumas is a top-class team that has earned several achievements over the years and regularly participates in international competitions. In 2015, the Pumas reached the final of the Rugby World Cup by defeating both Australia and Ireland. Rugby matches in Argentina are held every week. Therefore, if you wish to watch the game, visit many of the rugby fields where you can catch your favorite sport in action.
Polo
For those who are not aware, polo is a very popular sport in Argentina. Quite similar to Pato, in Polo, horsemen ride on the back of the horses and try to push a wooden ball into the opponent’s camp. However, as it is done in Pato, the horsemen are not required to pick the ball up from the ground. Instead, using a mallet, they fight to score as soon as possible.
In fact, Polo is so big in Argentina that its national team is considered to be one of the best. The majority of top polo players belong to Argentina. One could say that polo is popular due to its resemblance to Pato. However, it has been played continuously for a number of years both at local and international levels.
Boxing
Argentina’s first boxing champion was Pascual Perez. Following the success of Pascuel Perez, other boxers followed as well such as Horacio Accavallo, Carlos Monzon, Santos Laciar, and Nicolino Locche. Each boxer belonged to a different category and all had managed to earn the World Champion’s Title. In total, Argentina has won 24 Olympic medals including seven gold medals.
Victor Galindez of Argentina was the third Latin American to win the world’s light-heavyweight title. However, he passed away in an unfortunate accident involving a car running over him.
Then in 1994, Jorge Castro, the WBA world Middleweight champion at the time defeated John David Jackson in the ninth round to claim his title. During the fight, Castro was at risk of losing the match based on a technical knockout but that is when he delivered the knockout punch to Jackson, resulting in victory. It was described as Diego Maradona’s boxing version ‘Hand of God’ goal.
Today, Marcela Acuna stands to be the best female boxer from Argentina and has fought many fights in the 2000s. Several other fighters such as Juan Roldan, Luis Firpo, and Oscar Bonavena were popular as well but were not able to secure world championships.
Cricket
Cricket in Argentina has been played since 1806, with the national team making its first appearance in 1868. At the time, the team was competing against the Uruguay national team. With time, the sport managed to gain popularity due to both men and women’s cricket teams participating in the World Cricket League and the Argentina national women’s cricket team. Although cricket is a mildly followed sport in Argentina but its team is the strongest in South America. Since Argentina is a diverse country in terms of people, there is a huge potential for the country to make progress in cricket.
Basketball
Basketball is mostly played in the provinces of Argentina. The Basketball Clubs Association organizes the Liga Nacional de Basquet which happens to be the top-level league in the country. In 1950, the national team had won the first FIBA World Championship but at the time the sport was not that popular.
It was in the 2000s when the popularity chart started rising and the team had managed to win an Olympic medal at the 2004 summer Olympics. Furthermore, the team also gave a tough time to the opponents by putting up a good sport in 2002, 2006, and 2010 World Championships.
Golf
Jose Jurdo was the first prominent golfer from Argentina. He was also the first to travel to different countries to compete in international competitions. Furthermore, he was termed as the ‘Father of Argentine Professional Golf’. Then golfers De Vicenzo and Cerda won the 1953 Canada Cup. Overall, golfers from Argentina, Rooberto De Vicenzo, and Angel Cabrera had managed to win major gold titles such as the British Open, U.S Open, and the Augusta Masters.
Volleyball
Argentina has a professional male volleyball team. It has earned several achievements including a bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1982 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship. FIBV ranks the Argentine’s volleyball national team amongst the top 10 national teams in the world. Furthermore, the national team at the Pan American Games has also won two gold medals, on two different occasions.
Field Hockey
The female field hockey national team of Argentina known as ‘Las Leonas’ is amongst the most successful field hockey teams having won a World League, two World Cups, and seven Champions Trophy. Furthermore, the national team had won a Worldcup in 2002 as well as in 2010. Then in 2000 and 2012, the team also won silver medals at the Olympics Games alongside bronze medals in 2004 and 2008. In addition to that, Las Leonas has had the opportunity to win the annual Champions Trophy seven times and had a most successful goalkeeper.
Final Word
Concluding, if you were to ask what is the most popular sport in Argentina, then it would surely be Football. However, since the people of Argentina belong to different nationalities, the country has welcomed and progressed in almost every major sport. May it be polo, boxing or rugby, one cannot underestimate the power of Argentina when it comes to winning competitions. Soccor is popular world wide ranging from teams like the San Antonio FC to the big european teams.