With strong support from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), sepak takraw’s managing body has outlined an ambitious plan to move the sport from its roots in Southeast Asia to the world arena and hopefully to the Olympics.
Leading officials from the International Sepak Takraw Federation (ISTAF) launched a publicity campaign for the sport recently, announcing details for a tennis-style grand prix circuit and inaugural ISTAF World Cup in July 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The launch at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou was attended by OCA vice president Charouck Arirachakaran, who is also ISTAF president.
“During my time as president of ISTAF I have seen sepak takraw grow to become one of the most popular sports in the [Southeast Asian] Games and Asian Games. However, our commitment to increasing the appeal of our sport never stops, and there is still much we want to achieve,” Arirachakaran said in his welcome address.
Describing sepak takraw as “one of the oldest and most traditional sports”, Arirachakaran said it was “also an incredible sport, with huge appeal for modern sports fans”.
“I, for one, am not aware of any other sport that combines so many different athletic skills in such an explosive way. Our long-term goal is to raise the profile of sepak takraw throughout Asia and even beyond.
“Today we find ourselves in a very exciting position. For the very first time in our history, ISTAF will launch a new international tournament calendar,” he said.
The ISTAF Super Series 2011-2012 for 12 men’s and six women’s teams will take place in Malaysia, Thailand, China and South Korea, with the Korean leg hosting the Super Series finals.
“This is a significant step and provides a platform for sepak takraw as an elite Asian sport. As such, it opens a window for the sport to television viewers around the world,” Arirachakaran added.
ISTAF secretary-general Abdul Halim Kader thanked the OCA for adding the sport to the Asian Games in Beijing in 1990 and praised former OCA Sports Committee chairman Wei Jizhong, who is now International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) president.
Halim Kader said sepak takraw was played in 45 countries, but needed an official presence in 75 countries on five continents to be able to have chance of debuting at the Olympic Games, ISTAF’s goal for 2020.
A representative of ISTAF business partner UFA Sports Asia, said ISTAF wanted to rebrand the sport with new courts and attire for athletes, global TV distribution and official world rankings.
The OCA is looking to streamline the Asian Games from 42 sports current to no more than 35 by the 2014 Incheon Games.
Sepak takraw, along with baseball, cricket, kabbadi, karate, softball, squash, soft tennis, pencak silat and wushu are on the provisional list of Asian sports, while bowling has been moved to the Asian Indoor Games.
The OCA executive board will meet in Oman next month to finalize the seven Asian sports.
“The 28 Olympic Games sports were featured at the Incheon Games, but the other seven include five sports proposed by the countries in the region, one sport proposed by the host and one by the OCA,” said the chairwoman of the Indonesian Sports Council. “There is no decision yet and many sports are fighting for a place at the Games.”
On Friday, the penultimate day of the Asian Games, Indonesia won its last bronze medal from the sepak takraw men’s doubles team of Jusri Pakke, Yudi Purnomo, and Husni Uba after loosing to South Korea in the semifinals. Indonesia’s sepak takraw women’s team also contributed a bronze earlier in the Guangzhou event.
Facts and figures about sepak takraw
• Sepak takraw has been played for centuries in Southeast Asia. The earliest evidence of the sport dates to the 15th century Malay historical text Sejarah Melayu, which described an incident during a game in which Raja Muhammad, the son of Sultan Mansur Shah, was accidentally hit by a rattan ball by Tun Besar, a son of Tun Perak. Raja Muhammad killed Tun Besar and therefore his father banned him from Malacca.
• In Bangkok at Wat Phra Keow, built in 1758, murals show the Hindu god Hanuman playing takraw with a troop of monkeys. The game was played in a circular form for hundreds of years but in the 18th century the modern version began taking shape in Thailand.
• In 1866, the first rules were drafted by the Siam Sports Association and four years later a volleyball-style net was introduced.
• The game was made part of the athletic program of Thai schools and in 1933, an exhibition match was staged to celebrate Thailand’s first constitution, the year after the nation abolished its absolute monarchy.
• In the 1940s, volleyball-style takraw became widespread in Southeast Asia.
• In 1960 representatives from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Laos and Thailand gathered in Kuala Lumpur to standardize the sport’s rules. They also agreed on an official name for the sport: sepak takraw. The Malaysian name used to be sepak raga, while Thais referred to the sports as takraw. Sepak is the Malay word for kick and takraw is the Thai word for woven ball.
• The International Sepak Takraw Federation (ISTAF) becomes the sport’s international governing body and has held the King’s Cup World Championships in Thailand annually since 1985.
• The sport had its Asian Games debut in 1990 in Beijing and in 1998, women’s sepak takraw was staged for the first time.
• In 2009, the 24th edition of the King’s Cup took place with more than 30 participating countries.
