Sepak Takraw, also called kick volleyball, is a sport created in South Asia that involves a ball made of woven rattan leaves, which is similar to a palm tree. The object of the game, like volleyball, is to make the ball unreturnable by the opposing team, or force them to kick the ball out of bounds. It is believed that Sepak Takraw was introduced by the Chinese to Southeast Asia, and it was inspired by a traditional military game called “Cuju,” where soldiers tried to keep a feather-stuffed ball in the air. The ball evolved from being stuffed with feathers to an air-filled rattan ball.
The name “Sepak Takraw” has Malaysian and Thai origins. “Sepak” is Malay for kick, while “takraw” is a Thai word that translates into ball. The sport was recorded all around Southeast Asia, in countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, but it wasn’t played as a competitive sport until the 1940s. Since the 1940s, Sepak Takraw has gained more popularity, and it was introduced to the South East Asian Games in 1965. In fact, an American team has even been created for the next Sepak Takraw World Cup.
Ker Cha, an American descended from the Hmong people of Southeast Asia, is one of the members on the American team. He helped lead America to two gold medals in 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 in the 2022 world cup. Cha hopes that the sport will expand across America and the world, as he discussed in a recent interview with “The New York Times.”
“We hope that winning in these tournaments helps us to grow the sport,” Cha said. “We want to help it spread at every level, from being offered at public schools to being played at the Olympics.”
