Sepak Takraw

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Plastic Sepak Takraw Ball

Sepak Takraw (pronounced: [ seːpàk tàkrɔ̂ː ]) is a team sport from the group of return games , in which two teams with three players each face each other on a pitch divided by a net. The aim of the game is to play a ball with your feet over the net on the floor of the opposing half of the field and to prevent the opponent from succeeding. A team may touch the ball three times in a row to return it.

General

Sepak Takraw in Malaysia

Sepak Takraw (Sepak: Malay for kicking or shooting; Takraw: Thai for the braided ball) is an Asian ball sport that has its roots around 1500 AD, mainly in Thailand and Malaysia. At first you played a ball made of rattan with your foot in a circle. This happened on various festive occasions, such as temple festivals or just to pass the time. At that time the sport had no competitive character, only in the way of passing the ball on the players tried to outdo each other in skill and spectacle. When the British colonial rulers introduced badminton and thus also its specific fields in Malaysia in the 19th century, today's Sepak Takraw was created at a not exactly dated time, and it has spread widely in Southeast Asia to this day. In this new form of competition, three players face each other on a badminton court and try to get the ball into the opposing field with a maximum of three ball touches. The hands may only be used to throw the serve and are forbidden in the rest of the game.

history

In 1945, a demonstration game was held in Penang, Malaysia, which received a tremendous response and spread like wildfire over the rest of the Malay Peninsula and Southeast Asia. In 1960, sports officials from Indonesia , Laos , Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand met in Kuala Lumpur ( Malaysia ) to establish generally applicable rules and procedures for the game. The sport's official name has been Sepak Takraw since then . Furthermore, the was Asian Sepak Takraw Federation (ASTAF) established the rules translated into English and the first international competition during the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games (SEAP Games, forerunner of the Southeast Asian Games ) in 1965 agreed. In 1984 it was decided to use plastic mesh balls in tournaments. Because the ball is braided, it has special elastic properties. Over time the interest in Sepak Takraw increased in more and more countries, so that in 1988 the ASTAF was renamed ISTAF ( International Sepak Takraw Federation ). One of the goals of the ISTAF is the recognition of Sepak Takraw as an Olympic discipline. Before this can happen, the ISTAF must be included in the list of international associations recognized by the IOC . However, many conditions must still be met for this, e.g. B. Compliance with the doping code, greater worldwide distribution, etc. Since the Asian Games in Beijing in 1990 , Sepak Takraw has been a sport of the "Eastern Olympic Games". On January 17th 2011 the ISTAF published new rules for beach, doubles and Regu Sepak Takraw. The old rules, which were last changed when the ISTAF met in 1996 in Bangkok , still applied until mid-March 2011 . One of the biggest rule changes is that a set is only played up to 15 points and no longer up to 21. In addition, a team now has to win two instead of the previous three sets to celebrate the overall victory.

distribution

It is mainly played in the Southeast Asian countries today. There are different names depending on the country. In Thailand it is called ( Sepak ) Takraw ( Thai : เซปักตะกร้อ , spoken: [ seːpàk tàkrɔ̂ː ]), in Laos Kator , in Myanmar (Burma) Ching loong , in Singapore Sepak Raga or Sepraga , in Malaysia Sepak Raga , in Vietnam "Cầu mây ", in Brunei Sepak Raga Jala , in Indonesia Rago and in the Philippines Sipa . It is still relatively unknown in Europe and the USA , while it is the national sport in the Philippines. This sport is also very popular in Thailand with its extremely high entertainment value.

The FESTA (Federation of European Sepak Takraw Associations) has existed in Europe since 2003. The Euro-Series, a series of tournaments in Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Italy and Hungary, has existed since 2005.

Germany is the strongest nation in Europe and all four overall victories in the Euro Series to date have gone to Takraw Cologne '03 . The German representation was the first non-Asian team to win the gold medal in doubles (2 against 2) in Division II at the King's Cup in Bangkok in 2008 and has thus been promoted to Division I (2nd division). At the 2005 World Championships, she made it to the quarter-finals of the team event. This means that Germany is currently the most successful non-Asian team in the world.

matchfield

Sepak takraw field

The playing field is 13.40 m long and 6.10 m wide, in the middle there is a 1.52 m (men) or 1.42 m (women) high net. In the corners of the side and center line, quarter circles of 90 cm radius are marked, they represent the throw-off circles. 2.45 m from the base line and 3.05 m from the side lines is the center of the service circle, which is one diameter of 60 cm.

ball

The ball is made of hard plastic and has a circumference of 42–44 cm and a weight of 170–180 g (men) or 43–45 cm and a weight of 150–160 g (women). It is made up of 20 sectors, creating 12 holes and giving the ball its characteristic appearance.

player

German team in the King's Cup Sepaktakraw World Championship

Tekong

The Tekong (Thai captain) is the rear player. He serves and mostly accepts the opponent's attack. It is usually determined before the game starts and does not change.

Feeder

The feeder is one of the two front players. He usually has the second ball contact and provides the striker so that he can make an attack hit. Most of the time, the position of the striker and the feeder changes according to the situation.

Striker

The striker, also known as the killer, is the other front player. After he has received the ball from the feeder, he tries to make the fastest and most powerful attack possible.

Game flow

A player in front throws the ball to the Tekong when serving. Both players in front are in one of the painted quarter circles. The Tekong is also with at least one foot in the Service Circle, which he is not allowed to cross. When serving, the Tekong must not jump off, while the opposing Regu can move freely in its half of the field. After the ball has been successfully played over the net, the Tekong usually picks it up and plays it to the feeder. This puts the ball as high as possible so that the striker can play it back with force. Whoever reaches 15 points first wins a set, and whoever wins 3 sets wins a game.

variants

Double

It is played two on two, the rules are almost identical to the normal Sepak Takraw, only the service is executed after your own throw from behind the baseline. This form is far more intensive and requires more all-round skills from both players.

Circle takraw

The teammates stand in a circle at equal intervals and try to keep the ball in the air for as long as possible. Points are awarded according to the level of difficulty of the acrobatic performances.

In the competition, two teams with three players each play against each other. The players try to pass the ball to a player of their own team or those of the other team try to prevent this, i.e. to intercept it. If the ball hits the ground, the opposing team gets one point. The team that scored 21 points first wins.

Hoop takraw

Hoop takraw is a variant of the circle takraw. With this variant, the aim is to transport the ball as often as possible during the playing time of 20 to 30 minutes into a three-part net hanging approx. 5-6 m above the field. This net consists of three rings (hence: hoop) which are arranged perpendicular to each other in a triangle, so that the ball can only enter the net from the side through one of the rings and is closed at the bottom. To get the ball out of the net, it is lowered.

Web links

Commons : Sepak Takraw  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files