Sepak Takraw, loosely translated as "kick volleyball", is gaining popularity around the world and many sepak takraw associations are campaigning for it to become an Olympic sport.
The game has ancient roots in South East Asia and fans say that its has a level of cultural and artisitic value not seen in other sports.
But in Malaysia, where the Malaysian Sepak Raga Federation (an earlier name for the game) was formed in 1960, critics say the game has stagnated.
Thailand have been winning gold at international competitions for years, while Malaysia settles for silver.
But with a new generation of players finding the game online, can Malaysian sports associations create enough support to bring home the gold?
Video produced by @TheFourth
The game has ancient roots in South East Asia and fans say that its has a level of cultural and artisitic value not seen in other sports.
But in Malaysia, where the Malaysian Sepak Raga Federation (an earlier name for the game) was formed in 1960, critics say the game has stagnated.
Thailand have been winning gold at international competitions for years, while Malaysia settles for silver.
But with a new generation of players finding the game online, can Malaysian sports associations create enough support to bring home the gold?
Video produced by @TheFourth
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NewsTranscript
00:00 We created the Takraw sport, but outsiders are performing better than us.
00:04 In the 1960s, Malaysia was the world's number one sport.
00:12 Suddenly, we've reached this day.
00:17 In addition, this sport will be included in the Olympics.
00:20 If we don't take action now,
00:22 the sport will be left behind.
00:24 There are too many challenges.
00:27 My passion is getting weaker.
00:30 I want to prove that even though I'm 20,
00:36 I can compete with the seniors.
00:39 Like Leng Jinn, Farhana Adam, Shairoz Din.
00:41 I want to be better than them.
00:42 I want to create history that others can't.
00:44 That's my hope.
00:56 Ridwan Hakim has been playing sepak takraw since the age of 12.
01:00 I watched my seniors play,
01:03 Farhana Adam, Amirul Zazwan,
01:06 when I was young.
01:08 I watched them on YouTube.
01:09 I watched them play and my passion was to reach the top.
01:13 When we talk about sepak takraw,
01:16 people say it's a village sport.
01:18 To me, sepak takraw is a unique sport.
01:21 It's an art form.
01:26 Sepak takraw is a heritage.
01:28 It's a part of the local culture.
01:31 Even the sultans played sepak takraw.
01:35 When my father created sepak takraw,
01:38 it originated in the Penang Island farmers' market.
01:41 It was around the 1940s.
01:44 The history of sepak takraw can be traced back hundreds of years,
01:46 but it was Abdul Hamid Maidin
01:48 who is recognized in Malaysia as the founder of the modern game.
01:51 In the beginning, one individual fought another.
01:55 He found it uninteresting.
01:57 So he suggested three against three.
02:00 It's called antara regu.
02:02 In antara regu, there are two teams of three.
02:05 Each has a feeder, a killer and a server.
02:07 Players must use their bodies, but not their hands,
02:09 to pass the rattan ball over the net.
02:11 Each ball earns points for the opposing team,
02:13 and the first team to reach 21 points wins the set.
02:16 The first team to win two sets wins the match.
02:18 Although, it was recently announced
02:20 that the game will return to a 15-point system.
02:24 In the 1960s and 1980s,
02:26 sepak takraw was a very interesting and exciting sport
02:28 because it was a national sport.
02:31 But now, all players can compete for national titles.
02:34 For example, this player is competing for the team of Johor.
02:37 Next month, if there is another tournament,
02:39 he can represent Perak.
02:41 We will see the same players
02:43 competing in different sports.
02:45 Interest in sepak takraw dipped in the 90s,
02:47 and Zahary believes this lack of recognizable teams
02:50 is one reason why.
02:51 But it's not the only reason.
02:54 If we look at the sepak takraw culture in Malaysia,
02:58 the level of the competition is not as high as that of sepak takraw.
03:06 So, it gives the players a little bit of a desire
03:10 to move professionally in the sepak takraw.
03:14 It is indeed a hope, not me,
03:17 but maybe all sepak takraw players in Malaysia
03:21 hope that sepak takraw will become a professional sport.
03:25 So, it is indeed focused on sepak takraw.
03:28 There are too many challenges.
03:30 The main challenge is that now I have a family
03:34 and have children.
03:35 I have to share my commitment in terms of family,
03:39 my success and also my work.
03:42 Although national players receive an allowance,
03:45 Farhan has to juggle training and games
03:47 with his day job as an administrative assistant.
03:50 In terms of allowance, we can only use it for our daily life.
03:54 Maybe in terms of non-employed players,
03:57 only sepak takraw players,
03:58 they get an allowance like that,
03:59 how do they want to buy a house,
04:01 how do they want to buy a car?
04:02 The most important thing is the support from the family.
04:07 Support from my wife who gives me the words of encouragement.
04:12 In addition to my own mother,
04:14 who always works with the Association of Malaysian Sepak Takraw and MSN,
04:21 always gives me the freedom to represent the country.
04:25 To get the gold medal,
04:29 we need to show a much better performance than before.
04:33 Because we realize that the competition of the sepak takraw team itself
04:36 will come from main countries such as Thailand,
04:40 Korea, Indonesia, India,
04:41 which they are now preparing a team to go to the Asian Games.
04:45 The impact when we get the gold medal in the Asian Games is very big.
04:50 It will give a greater opportunity to players,
04:54 the sepak takraw team players,
04:56 the players of the association itself,
04:58 to develop more.
04:59 Because the opportunity to be in a higher position will be open.
05:04 For example, players will get the opportunity to become
05:07 a sponsor of various items such as the one before.
05:10 It is true that it has been obtained from the sepak takraw players in particular.
05:15 Over the past 10 years, interest in the game has grown
05:18 thanks to the creation of the Televise Sepak Takraw League or STL.
05:22 In terms of viewers or ratings,
05:24 the number of viewers who watch the STL competition
05:27 on social media or on television has increased year after year.
05:32 And this gives a sign that there are still many
05:36 players out there who support the sepak takraw league itself.
05:40 Playing STL matches is where Red One was spotted
05:44 and invited to train with a thai club.
05:46 Yes, Malaysia's biggest sepak takraw rivals.
05:49 When I went there, I wanted to learn how they could be champions.
05:52 Who are they? What do they do in their daily lives?
05:54 For example, wake up in the morning, discipline.
05:57 What kind of vape do they smoke?
05:58 We lost there.
06:00 Their spirit is really, they deserve to win.
06:03 That made me proud.
06:06 So I learned a lot there.
06:09 With different groups lobbying to make sepak takraw an Olympic sport,
06:12 Malaysia is focusing on new talent.
06:15 For 2024, the National Sports Council and Sepak Takraw Union
06:19 have agreed that half of the national team should be players under 21.
06:24 This is a big step, a big role
06:27 for us to train players to train and compete abroad.
06:31 It's a great experience.
06:33 Actually, the best opportunity for every player at this time is bigger.
06:38 Even though they are in a rather small area,
06:40 but some players can take bigger initiatives
06:45 such as networking, finding suitable training places.
06:50 Because usually, talent scouting will go to places
06:54 that are thought to have a relatively large potential.
06:57 So from there, we will be able to see the true skills of the players themselves
07:01 so that we can make a choice.
07:03 If they really have potential,
07:05 there is nothing impossible for the players we call in the national team program.
07:11 The country must be prosperous.
07:14 Like badminton, like hockey, the country must be prosperous.
07:18 When the country is prosperous,
07:20 the kids who watch the players, the Malaysian hockey players,
07:23 their spirit is also high.
07:25 If we are popular, we are strong.
07:28 We are famous in the world. The fans must be interested in badminton.
07:31 And this role must be played by everyone,
07:34 from the top to the bottom.
07:38 Only then can the Takraw team be popular again.
07:40 We are still holding the Takraw.
07:45 Besides Thailand, our ranking is only number two.
07:48 We have never fallen to number three or four.
07:50 Because the Takraw never stops.
07:52 We are still on tour, so there are still new ones.
07:54 Until we beat Thailand.
07:57 If possible, I want the Malaysian people to have a high opinion of the Takraw team.
08:01 I want to create a history that is remembered by all Malaysian people.
08:05 Even if I die, people will know that I have created history.
08:11 I want to create a history that others have not created.
08:14 I want to create a history that others have not created.
08:16 I want to create a history that others have not created.
08:18 I want to create a history that others have not created.
08:20 I want to create a history that others have not created.
08:23 I want to create a history that others have not created.
08:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]