What game do you think they are playing? Do you think it’s a fast game?
Sepak Takraw
Can you imagine a sport that is a combination of soccer, volleyball, and gymnastics and that is played on a badminton court? There is really a sport like this! It’s called sepak takraw. The name comes from two languages. Sepak is “kick” in Malay, and takraw is “ball” in Thai.
Sepak takraw is a very popular sport in Asia and is growing rapidly. Each team has three players. Players stand on opposite sides of a five-foot high net. Each team tries to send the ball back over the net to the other team. Players can use their feet, knees, backs, shoulders, or heads, but they can’t use their hands or arms. Like in volleyball, there are passes and sets, and the rules of the two games are very similar. The takraw ball is made of plastic, or of rattan (a material like bamboo), and it weighs 170 to 190 grams.
The game is very fast, and the ball can travel up to 140 kilometers per hour. Players jump, float in the air, flip upside down, and perform acrobatic stunts to block or smash the ball. Sepak takraw is an exciting game to play and to watch.