NATIONAL SPORTS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

The 11 villages in Southeast Asia have their own national sports. Some are official as recognized by the government and some are not. Other villages pick their national sport by cultural tradition and others opt with popularity.


Silat is the official national sport of Brunei. It is traditional martial arts form that uses blades and stuff but mainly bare hand. This sport spans the whole Malay Archipelago.

The official national sport of Burma is Chinlone. It requires a ball that’s kicked around with your team mates. There is no opposing team meaning, this is a non-competitive game. The object of the game is how beautiful and skillfully pass the ball to your team mate. I have seen this once and I could strongly say; it is one of the world’s most beautiful games.


Cambodia’s Sey dates back to the 11th century. It is the official national sport of the Khmer Kingdom. It is played with a special kind of ball thingy that’s kicked back and forth like volleyball. Here’s the kicker – historians believe that ancient Sey of Cambodia is where the Sipa (Philippines) and Sepak Takraw (Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei) came from.

Indonesia seems not to have an official national sport although their Cultural Attaché in Bangkok told us that Pencak Silat is considered for cultural and traditional importance. Pencak Silat is the collective term of the countrywide game called Silat. I asked around and all I got is – Badminton and Football. Obviously noted by popularity.

Here’s a surprise: the official national sport of Laos is *drumroll* Rugby. The game was recently recognized by the Lao government as their national sport although Laos is a football playing nation. Go figure.

Sepak Takraw is one of the most popular sports in the whole of Southeast Asia and it is considered as the national sport of Malaysia although it is not official. It is called Kick Volleyball in English and played by opposing teams making sure the ball doesn’t hit the ground on their side.

The Philippines’ official national sport is Sipa which means kick in Filipino. It is played with a special shuttlecock-like ball (street) or rattan ball (court) and played like the Cambodian Sey and the Malaysian Sepak Takraw.

While writing this, I was with a Singaporean friend and asked her the country’s national sport. Guess what I got? – Shopping! Then it occurred to me why I asked a lady. I turned to a dude and he said Online Gaming like Killing Orc and others. Whoah! Hi-techie-techie!

Football is the national sport of Timor Leste and Vietnam, although it’s not officially recognized by both countries. The Timorese attaché in Bangkok didn’t have any idea and my Vietnamese friends say it’s football (but I seriously doubt it).

The official national sport of Thailand is Muay Thai. “Muay" means boxing and “Thai” means... isn't it obvious? It is our version of Muay Boran (ancient boxing). It is amorously called “The Art of 8 Limbs” and considered one of the deadliest martial arts in the world.

Our National Sports -- Our icons.

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*If this post needs correction, it is always welcome.