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Thailand won a fifth successive Asian Games sepak takraw gold medal yesterday, then wished the rest of the world would take their spectacular niche sport seriously. |
The favourites silenced largely South Korean supporters at the jam-packed 5,500-capacity Bucheon gymnasium with a 2-0 win over the Games hosts to retain the title they have won since 1998.
The victory followed gold medal success for the Thai women’s team, who outclassed Myanmar 2-0 in the final of the sport that came out of Southeast Asia and is striving to win converts.
It is a mix of football, martial arts and volleyball except that players are not allowed to use their hands to control the rattan ball.
Bicycle kicks are commonplace as players juggle the ball with feet, knees, chest and head before sending it across a volleyball-style net.
Thailand were so dominant in both finals that the action ended 90 minutes before the scheduled victory ceremony, by which time the stands had emptied—except for a bunch of boisterous Thai supporters.
“This was not an easy match as the scores may suggest because the Koreans were very good,” said Thai coach Kamol Tankimhong. “We had to fight hard as if we were fighting for our lives.”
Jubilant players celebrated by dancing on court, lifted Kamol and other officials in the air, before bowing towards their fans to thank them for their support.
Suriyan Peachan, a 40-year-old veteran of all five gold medal-winning teams, said the title confirmed his nation’s status as the seemingly unbeatable force in sepak takraw.
His only regret was that the highly-exciting and acrobatic sport, otherwise known as ‘kick volleyball’, had yet to catch the fancy of nations outside Asia.
“It is hard not to like sepak takraw,” Peachan told AFP. “There is so much drama, so much action. In which other sport do you see people doing flips in the air on every point.”
The sport took the first step towards world recognition when the International Sepak Takraw Federation (ISTAF) was formed in 1988 with its secretariat in Singapore.
Among the 30 member countries of ISTAF are the United States—ranked ninth—France, Switzerland, Australia and Germany, but its impact outside Asia remains minimal.
With the participation at the Olympics still a distant dream, the ISTAF organises a Super Series every year in various parts of Asia featuring the best sepak takraw exponents from across the world.
The next 2014-15 season is due to open in Myanmar next month.
Building on the popularity of beach volleyball, sepak takraw made a seamless transition to sand which led to its inclusion in the inaugural Asian Beach Games in Bali in 2008.
But it is international recognition that sepak takraw craves for and the Swiss Open, Chicken’s Cup in Germany and a Thai league may be just the start it needs.