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As such, any Western sport has a hard time claiming the country's old pastoral hobbies.
But at Chingisiin Huree camp, south of the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, in the midst of yurts where bone breakage and archery are still popular activities, a man is on a mission. Bring rugby to Mongolia.
Khosbayar Ganbold grew up like many Mongolian boys with sporting ambitions thinking that his future was that of a wrestler. But a series of injuries have led him to consider rugby as a potential alternative to the country's most popular sport.
"In 2003, I was both a national style wrestler and a freestyle wrestler," Ganbold told CNN.
"Because of my injuries, I spent a lot of time and trouble at the hospital, that was when I was wondering how to make a comeback." How can I survive and overcome all this?
"My friend came to visit me at the hospital and brought me a rugby magazine.My health was really bad.And when I opened the magazine, I had Seeing these athletes strong and healthy.My friend said, 'Let's try it, this sport is for real men.This requires perseverance despite the difficulties. & # 39; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp;
"I was not sure I could become so strong and healthy, but I followed my dream and started coaching myself."
It was six full years before Mongolia even played an international match. But Ganbold began practicing the sport almost instantly, after going to Hong Kong to play professionally before returning to his homeland to broadcast the rugby gospel.
Ten years after Mongolia's first competitive match, progress has been made. But in this part of the world, the obstacles to growth rest as much on the landscape as on the ground.
"The main key to success in any sport is training and it's hard to do proper training in Mongolia, where the winter lasts six months," said Ganbold.
"Normally, during the winter, it's -30 ° C … and it's hard to play on the snow, even for sports fans," he adds.
& # 39; Snow Rugby & # 39;
Despite the difficult climate, rugby begins to flourish in Mongolia.
An annual "rugby rugby" tournament attracts the best players in the country every March. This year, the event was helped by an early spring that boosted participation.
"Rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in Mongolia," said Ganbold. "Right now, there are eight men's clubs, five women's clubs, with more than 300 athletes participating in. Daily news about the media or social media platforms is increasing."
"But it will not hurt if we say we are still developing," he adds.
For outsiders such as former US Women's Army coach Leland Bernard Stedge Jr., who currently lives in Mongolia, the growth potential of rugby in the country is high.
"Mongolians are born to play rugby, they are natural players," he said.
"They love to hit, they love to attack, they are in excellent physical condition and many of them are extremely, extremely fast.
"I would say to some Mongolians that I knew rugby and that they said," Well, we are not very good at team sports. "And I said," yes, you have. You had the biggest team in the biggest sport of history and the greatest coach – Genghis Khan. "
Genghis is considered one of the greatest conquerors in history, and the empire he helped to build remains the largest that the world has ever known.
At one time, Genghis ruled over everything between the east coast of China and the Caspian Sea.
According to Dashdendev Gansukh, vice-president of the Mongolian Rugby Football Union, rugby has many elements that Mongolians find appealing in the sport.
"From a cultural and historical point of view, we are very interested in or pbadionate about combat sports, and rugby itself is a team sport, and I think it appeals to a lot of people in terms of sports." appetite for the sport, "he says.
"I think that now the Rugby World Cup (which will be organized by Japan later this year) is coming to Asia, it's a very big boost to increase the audience in Mongolia," he said. added Gansukh.
For Ganbold, however, rugby has the power to be much more than just a leisure activity or a sport with which few lucky people can make a living.
In his youth, he says that he "had the habit of smoking, drinking and that he was not very wise" before starting to play rugby.
Now he hopes that sport can help others face their own challenges.
"We had young athletes who had a difficult life and education, made bad decisions in the past, they know the cruelties of life and even some of them have been seriously injured. sport has changed them, "he says.
"This gives them hope, courage and gives some of them a second look at the problems they encounter."
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