SEPAKTAKRAW is set to write a new chapter in its history when it is contested at the 2025 World Beach Disability Games in Hatyai, Thailand, from Oct 18-25 as a medal sport.
International Sepaktakaw Federation (ISTAF) secretary-general Datuk Abdul Halim Kader said the sport has been accepted into the Games via an email from the Games’ head of operations Elin Luce on July 14.
“Originally, the Games were supposed to be held in Mersin, Turkiye, but have now been moved to Hatyai, Thailand, due to certain reasons.
“Besides Thailand, ISTAF has also listed Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, South Korea, the Philippines and Taiwan as among the seven or eight countries expected to take part,” he said in a statement today.
Abdul Halim, who is also Asian Sepak Takraw Federation (ASTAF) president, is confident of forging close cooperation with the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM), particularly involving the participation of the country’s adaptive sepaktakraw team.
Adaptive sepaktakraw will be contested in three categories:
TKR1: Athletes with above-the-knee amputation on one leg who use a prosthetic leg or balancing aid;
TKR2: Athletes with below-the-knee amputation on one leg, wearing a prosthetic leg, or those with muscle atrophy, polio or leg length discrepancy; and
TKR3: Athletes with below-the-elbow amputation on one arm, or those with congenital anomalies, muscle stiffness, atrophy, or polio.
Three events will also be contested, namely Arm Category (all players have a disability in one arm); Mixed 1 (one player with a leg disability together with two players with arm disabilities); and Mixed Quadrant (two players with leg disabilities and two with arm disabilities). – Bernama