Hoop takraw:

Hoop takraw: Silly or spicy?

Clement Tan ANN/The Straits Times/Singapore

The biennial Southeast Asia Games is becoming more and more exotic in recent years. More and more oddball sports have come on board. Some are serious. Some less so -- and others simply silly.

The new additions act like spicy dressings to the Games salad. They are mostly added to boost the host country's medal tally.

For instance, shuttlecock kicking made its SEA Games debut in Vietnam two years ago when the host country won all seven gold medals in the sport en route to finishing overall champion for the first time in its history.

Come November in Manila, three sports will make their debut in the SEA Games -- hoop takraw and two martial arts events, Arnis and Muay Thai.

The big surprise is that hoop takraw originated in Thailand and not the Philippines. It was first introduced to the region at the King's Cup in Thailand last December.

Hoop takraw? What's that?

Hoop takraw is so new in countries like Singapore that it is being played only by the national sepak takraw squad.

The reason is obvious. Both sports use the same rattan ball.

But the rules are completely different.

In hoop takraw, the object is to put the ball into a three- sided hoop placed in the middle of a circle, and hung 4.75 metres above the ground for the men's competition and 4.5m for the women's.

The scoring is done in one of eight ways -- using the head, shoulders or legs (inside kick, outside kick, knee kick, cross- jump kick, behind kick and front kick). The use of hands is not permitted.

It is played by five players on each side. They must try to score as many points as possible by putting the ball into the hoop in 15 minutes.

Each player can score only three times using any one of the eight methods and each basket is worth 10 points.

The team with the highest total score is the winner. If the scores are equal, the team who execute a higher number of difficult styles will be declared the winner.

If all else are still equal, the match shall be decided by the toss of a coin.

Said Khir Johari, the national sepak takraw team manager: "It is a game that anyone can pick up."

Singapore national team member Khairul Ariffin feels that hoop takraw is all about individual ball skills.

"Training for hoop takraw is difficult, but it complements our regular sepak takraw training," said Mat Rizal Osman, 22 and the most senior player in the preliminary 18-strong squad.

The squad will be cut to 12 after the first phase of intensive training and then pruned to nine for Manila.

They will play in the team, doubles and hoop events.

Said Khir: "Other than the Thais, the other SEA countries are generally on par when it comes to hoop takraw."