This year’s Southeast Asian Games are coming to a close today in Cambodia. One of the sports featured in the games is sepak takraw, also called chinlone or “kick volleyball.” It’s a team sport where players volley a small woven ball over a five-foot-high (1.52-meter-high) net using any body part except for their arms and hands. Players leap high into the air, launching themselves sideways or flipping upside down to kick, pass, or block the ball, their body repeatedly flying up and crashing back to the court. Gathered below are recent images of people playing sepak takraw in both stadiums and neighborhood courts.
Sepak Takraw, a Sport of Airborne Athleticism
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![Two athletes leap high into the air to kick a small ball over a net.]()
Read moreMalaysia's Muhammad Hafizul Adnan (right) vies for the ball with Cambodia's Phom Kongkia during their men's sepak takraw team match at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on May 12, 2023. #
Nhac Nguyen / AFP / Getty -
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![An athlete leaps and kicks a small ball over a net, into three jumping defenders.]()
Read moreIndonesia's Saiful Rizal jumps for the ball against Japan in the sepak takraw men's quadrant final during the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia, on September 1, 2018. #
Mohd Rasfan / AFP / Getty -
![An athlete stretches to kick a ball high above their head.]()
Read moreLaos's Namfon Morladok, seen in action during a Malaysia versus Laos sepak takraw match at the Southeast Asian Games, at Hoang Mai Sports Center in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 14, 2022. #
Navesh Chitrakar / Reuters -
![An athlete leaps beside a net to block a kicked ball.]()
Read moreThailand's Manlika Bunthod (right) vies for the ball with Malaysia's Nur Athirah Roslan during their women's sepak takraw doubles match at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, on May 12, 2023. #
Nhac Nguyen / AFP / Getty -
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![An athlete twists sideways during a high jump to kick a ball over a net.]()
Read moreThailand's Thawisak Thongsai leaps during the men's team match against Cambodia at the Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, on May 13, 2023. #
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters -
![Three people are seen kicking a ball over a net in an outdoor playground.]()
Read moreMen play a game of sepak takraw in Bangkok on January 25, 2022. #
Jack Taylor / AFP / Getty -
![An athlete balances a ball on their foot, which is raised high above their head.]()
Read moreThailand's Lac Somruedee Pruepruk balances the ball during the sepak takraw women's match against Malaysia, at the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, on May 17, 2022. #
Ye Aung Thu / AFP / Getty -
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![Two athletes are seen in mid-leap, twisting to kick a ball over a net.]()
Read moreJirasak Pakbuangoen of Thailand (right) kicks a ball against Muhammad Noaraizat Mohd Nordin of Malaysia during the final men's team sepak takraw match between Thailand and Malaysia, in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 17, 2022. #
Achmad Ibrahim / AP -
![Several men kick a ball over a net at an informal outdoor court.]()
Read moreMen vie for the ball as they play sepak takraw in a park in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 15, 2019. #
Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters -
![An athlete reaches their leg high in the air, kicking a small ball.]()
Read moreSingapore's Muhammad Danish Irfan bin Muhamad Faizal kicks the ball in the group stage sepak takraw match against Malaysia in Phnom Penh, on May 16, 2023. #
Nhac Nguyen / AFP / Getty -
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![Two athletes leap into the air to kick a ball over a net.]()
Read morePhilippines's Rhey Jey C Ortouste (left) competes against Malaysia's Muhammad Afifuddin Mohd Nordin during the men's sepak takraw semifinal at the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 17, 2022. #
Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters -
![An athlete leaps and twists to kick a small ball above them.]()
Read moreMyanmar's Theiri Aung, seen in action during the women's sepak takraw semifinal against Vietnam, at the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, on May 17, 2022. #
Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters -
![A player leaps and twists sideways to kick a small ball over a net.]()
Read moreIndonesia's Rusdi kicks the ball in the men's sepak takraw final between Indonesia and Thailand, in Hanoi, on May 21, 2022. #
Nhac Nguyen / AFP / Getty -
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![An athlete kicks a ball high above their head.]()
Read moreMalaysia's Muhammad Haziq Nizam kicks the ball against Cambodia during their men's sepak takraw team match at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, on May 12, 2023. #
Nhac Nguyen / AFP / Getty -
![Two teams of three athletes face off on either side of a net.]()
Read moreLaos' Santisouk Chandala serves in the women's match against Malaysia, in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 14, 2022. #
Navesh Chitrakar / Reuters -
![A player gets one leg tangled over a net while falling during a game.]()
Read moreA player gets tangled while falling during a game of sepak takraw in Bangkok, on January 25, 2022. #
Jack Taylor / AFP / Getty -
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![An athlete jumps high and kicks a ball across a net toward a defender.]()
Read moreMalaysia's Muhammad Noraizat, (left) kicks a ball against Indonesia's Muhammad Hardiansyah during the men's team doubles sepak takraw final match at the Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, on May 15, 2023. #
Tatan Syuflana / AP -
![Two players celebrate on court after scoring.]()
Read moreMalaysia's Amirul Zazwan Amir (right) and Mohammad Azlan Alias react after a point against Thailand in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on May 11, 2023. #
Tatan Syuflana / AP
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