Kicking it up a gear

By XU HAOYU in Hangzhou | China Daily | Updated: 2023-10-03 11:01
Share
Share - WeChat
Extraordinary feats of agility have been on display throughout the sepak takraw tournaments at the 19th Asian Games, making it a big hit with spectators. Photo/Agencies

Sepak takraw is far more intense than its nickname "foot volleyball" suggests

Explosive kicks, dead-stop blocks and nets that unexpectedly ensnare like spiderwebs — sepak takraw matches have elicited gasps from amazed audiences at the 19th Asiad.

The sport is popular in Southeast Asian nations such as Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore and Malaysia -its country of origin — but remains little known outside of them.

However, the Hangzhou Games are providing a platform to expand its profile throughout the continent and, to some extent, even globally.

Players use their feet, ankles and knees to keep a rattan ball airborne and kick it over a net that bisects the court in an attempt to force the other team of two or three players to knock it out of bounds, earning the sport the nickname "foot volleyball". Directly translated from Malay, sepak means "kick" and takraw means "ball".

It's a technically and physically demanding sport that often requires players to kick with their feet at shoulder height or higher.

Sepak takraw can be traced to the 11th century, but largely took shape in the area around sultanate-ruled Malacca in the 15th century. That's when it developed from the leisurely activity of sepakraga, in which people would stand in a circle and keep a rage (rattan ball) off the ground as long as possible using only their heads and feet. At this time, it was very much like Western hacky sack -played with round, cloth bags filled with beads — or Chinese jianzi, which uses a weighted shuttlecock.

The introduction of competitive volleyball-like rules captured greater attention, especially following a demo match staged in Penang, Malaysia, in 1945.

Official rules were announced in 1960, after which the sport was introduced to the Southeast Asian Games. It was featured in the Asian Games as an exhibition sport in 1982 and as an official competition event at the 11th Asiad in Beijing in 1990.

Sepak takraw demands an extremely high level of coordination among team members.

For instance, every serve requires two players to work together because the position and height at which the ball is tossed to the server directly determines its quality.

Similarly, teammates need to pass the ball to the most optimal position for the striker to attack, and the best opportunities often present themselves in a split second.

Traditionally, teammates hold hands and swing their arms in unison after every round, no matter how well or poorly they've just played.

1 2 Next   >>|
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 天天射天天操天天色| 欧美大荫蒂毛茸茸视频| 国产对白受不了了| av无码精品一区二区三区| 日本强伦姧人妻一区二区| 亚洲欧美成人日韩| 精品无码国产一区二区三区51安| 国产男女野战视频在线看| www成人国产在线观看网站| 日本肉动漫无遮挡无删减在线观看 | 国产精品久久久久鬼色| www.日韩在线| 日本三级在线观看中文字| 亚洲国产精品久久久久秋霞小| 福利视频第一页| 国产一区风间由美在线观看| 色综合久久天天影视网| 天天av天天翘天天综合网| 中文字幕巨大乳在线看| 最近2019免费中文字幕视频三| 亚洲男女性高爱潮网站| 精品国产一区二区三区不卡| 国产免费内射又粗又爽密桃视频| 香蕉视频黄色在线观看| 大肉大捧一进一出小视频| 三级韩国一区久久二区综合| 日本成本人三级在线观看2018| 亚洲一卡二卡三卡| 欧美黄色一级片免费看| 免费永久在线观看黄网站| 老板在办公室里揉护士的胸视频 | 国产精品毛片一区二区| jizz.日本| 成人欧美1314www色视频| 久久福利视频导航| 欧美一区二区影院| 亚洲精品无码av人在线观看| 精品国产午夜理论片不卡| 国产乱子伦视频在线观看| 狠狠色综合久久婷婷| 国产精品户外野外|