Sport in Tengaria
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Sport in Tengaria has a long tradition, and forms an important part of the culture. Tengaria has many sporting clubs, some serious, and some more recreational, and most of which encompass a variety of sporting groups and events. It works in sports together with its allies Samorspi, but due to its warmer climate it generally pursues different sports than its northern neighbors. The four primary sports are athletics, baseball, tennis, and volleyball. Other semi-popular sports in Tengaria include Zadany and Basketball, while sports with a much smaller presence include Association Football and Rugby.
History
Early History
Athletics and wrestling were brought to Tengaria both through the city of Istros and the Empire of Arciluco, and became repopularised when Tengaria joined the Invictus Games in 1898.
Bat-and-ball games have a long and storied tradition in Tengaria. From a common bat-and-ball game done in the Empire of Arciluco, two sports emerged- Oină, popular in the eastern regions but also in Amathial; and Rombila, or "diamond-ball", which became popular in the western regions.
Invictus Games
Tengaria joined the Invictus Games in 1898, and has competed in each of the Invictus Games since, being one of the few countries to do so, having the same Invictus Committee under both the Empire and the Republic. Tengaria won the bidding to host the 1918 Summer Invictus Games in the city of Lenovo, being the sixth iteration of the Invictus Games, which was its most successful year in the games. Although financial difficulties saw Tengaria's performance at the games fall significantly short in the years following the Great War, Tengaria began to put more funding and interest following the Civil War, and had its best period in the summer games from 1966 to 1974. Since 1998, Tengaria has not seen a year where it has not won a medal at the summer games. In the Winter Games, Tengaria does not send many athletes, and usually only competes in biathlon and cross-country skiing, and has a significantly lower medal count.
Sports
Athletics
The most ancient sports still widely practiced in Tengaria are athletics, and to a lesser extent wrestling. The most prestigious and highly competitive sport is the decathlon, as it is seen as a universal sport and a mastery of many things. Each of its component parts is also highly valued, and so Tengaria places great interest track and field tradition as well. In addition, Tengaria has a strong marathon and more recently ultramarathon community. Tengaria has been the most successful at the Invictus Games at athletics, particularly in the Decathlon, having won the gold medal for the decathlon a record 9 times, and is has by far more medals for athletics than any other sport. Boris Azlatani, widely considered to be Tengaria's greatest athlete, is the only person to have won three decathlon gold medals in the history Invictus Games.
By far the most popular sport in Tengaria is athletics, as has a strong emphasis on athletic events, particularly at longer distances or encompassing all the practices. Tengaria is also home to many famous internationally recongised athletic competitions, including the Lenovo Marathon, the Anduranta Meeting, the Len River Ultramarathon. Various clubs and tournaments are held locally, regionally, and throughout the country each year, and Tengaria has seen success in the Invictus Games in this sport. These sports are generally dominated by men, as it is often seen as being more improper to women, however, in recent decades, women's athletics has become more accepted and popular.
Baseball
Main article: Solarian Baseball League, Rombila
Baseball is the most popular team sport in the country in terms of participation for men, and overall viewership. Imported from Rizealand and Senria, it quickly caught on in popularity, especially following its introduction at the Invictus games in 1914, especially due to its similarities with Tengaria's traditional bat-and-ball games. In 1921, the Solarian Baseball League was formed, making it the first professional sporting league in the country, as the other associations remained amateur until later. Tengaria is one of the few countries outside the Asterias and Senria to field baseball leagues, although the league is usually not considered on the same level of prestige as the "big three"- Premier League, Arucian, and Senria, although it is older than the last.
In addition to baseball, the country's traditional bat-and-ball games- Oină and Rombila- remain popular as amateur sports, with thousands of clubs and smaller leagues organised through the country. Both of these sports are taught in physical education classes in schools.
Tennis
Towards the very end of the nineteenth century, Tennis was imported from Eastern Euclea and became a popular sport in Tengaria, particularly of the upper class. Unlike athletics and wrestling, it became popular for both women and men, and various clubs were formed for the sport. The predominant courts used in Tengaria are clay courts, but hard courts also exist as well. One of the people sent to the first Invictus Games in 1898 was a tennis player. Tennis has continued to remain a popular sport, but it is usually only done by the wealthier citizens of the country. Recently, the sport has grown more popular with the success of several players, one of which, Lubomir Avictori, a singles gold-medal Invictus winner who is considered one of the best male tennis players of all time and is the current number 1 ranked male tennis player in the world. In addition, Tengaria has seen several women succeed in the sport to reach the number 1 spot, such as Gloria Antoneva and Erzsébet Lengyel. Tengaria is also home to the Lenovo Open, which although not a Grand Slam is one of the primary tournaments of the Masters Series.
Volleyball
The primary organized women's sport of Tengaria is that of volleyball. While there are both men and women who play professionally in Tengaria, this is the primary sport which women athletes do, as it seen as more acceptable. As such, focus and coverage of the sport tends to focus more on the female side, and also because the women tend to be better on the international level. The Tengarian Volleyball League is the women's league. On average, the women's league gets higher viewership than the men, although in other sports the men get higher ratings. The teams associated with both are often also associated with the multi-sport clubs. In addition to the professional level, volleyball is a popular recreational sport, having clubs across the country, as well as being a very popular pick-up game. As the nation's primary team sport for women, Tengaria is also competitive internationally, both in the men's and women's divisions, and regularly compete at a high level in the Invictus Games, and Tengarian teams have won gold medals in the sport 7 times.
Zadany
Zadany was the historic sport of the upper class, who had the access to horses necessary to do it, but in the last century the audience for it greatly expanded and the sport became more popular. There are a variety of clubs dedicated to the sport around Tengaria, and there exists a devoted fandom to the international Zadany scene. Tengaria ranks highly internationally in this sport, as the teams it fields at the international level are of fairly high caliber. Tengaria has won 11 medals in the Invictus Games for Zadany, in part due to the fact that it is only popular in certain countries.
Basketball
Basketball is popular throughout Samorspi, and while Tengaria's teams are rarely as good as Soravia, they can usually compete well with other countries, and Tengaria has won three Invictus medals in the sport. Most basketball teams are organized by the various sporting clubs around the country, and several prominent players have gone to play in international professional leagues.
Biathlon
Cross-Country Skiing
Football and Rugby
Finally, Tengaria has clubs for both football and rugby, but these tend to be often behind their Euclean counterparts, as neither are as popular as the other sports, and do not draw much attention in Tengaria. Football is somewhat popular in the region of Calia, which generally produces higher-quality football players.