Antonio Nava

Antonio Nava started playing polo at the age of 15. He joined the Mexican Military College in 1921 and graduated with the rank of lieutenant. He went on to reach the rank of major general in 1960. He played in a series against US Army in 1934 and in the Avila Camacho Cup in 1941.

A 6-goal handicap player, Nava was the number two and captain of the Mexico team that won the bronze medal at the 1936 Olympics, and in 1941 was a member of the Mexico team beaten in his country’s first international match against the United States. The following year he toured Argentina with the Mexican national team, winning the Provincia de Buenos Aires and Ramón Castillo Cups, and was voted the sportswriters’ “Athlete of the Year”. Nava later became the President of the Mexican Polo Association and, after his playing days ended, he entered politics and was for a short time in the 1960s the governor of the Mexican state of Puebla.