Argentina wheelchair rugby fights for Worlds berth

In regards to how they sit in their South American qualification zone, Foa said Argentina, Brazil and Colombia are at a very similar level.

Wheelchair rugby is not a sport that you immediately associate with Argentina, but in recent years it has grown in popularity and the nation is in contention to qualify for the 2014 IWRF World Championships in Denmark.

Over the weekend, Argentina staged their national championships, which gave the top wheelchair rugby athletes from the country the opportunity to showcase their skills.

Teams from Buitres, Tigre, Cilsa and Cordoba in Argentina, as well as the national squads from Chile and Uruguay, were the six competing teams in the tournament.

Buenos Aires based team Buitres won the final against Santa Fe outfit Tigre, 57-41.

Juan Foa was a member of the champion Buitres team and said wheelchair rugby in Argentina is on the right track.

“We have five teams within the country, it is a sport which is growing and we had a lot of support during the tournament and especially in the final game,” he said.

In regards to how they sit in their South American qualification zone, Foa said Argentina, Brazil and Colombia are at a very similar level.

At the 2009 zone championships, Argentina became the first South American nation to qualify for a World Championships when they defeated rivals Brazil.

However, Brazil reversed their fortunes by defeating Argentina on the same stage in 2011 and has since remained the top ranked South American nation.

With a spot on the line for the 2014 World Championships, Argentina will now turn their attention to the Americas Zone Championships to be played in Birmingham, Alabama, in the USA from 14-20 October.

During the tournament they will face the recently crowned the No. 1 nation, USA, world No. 3 Canada, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

Only two of the six nations can qualify for Denmark so Argentina knows they will have to be at their absolute best to make it through.