Sepak Takraw isn’t officially recognized as a sport in New Zealand, but that hasn’t stopped Karen players in Auckland. The former refugees have been getting their skills up to a level where they now are off to the World championships in Thailand – coming up in July.
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Sepak Takraw player Eh Myo prepares to represent New Zealand at the 2022 World Champs, Auckland 2022.
Photo: RNZ
Myu Oo Sine, like many others from his community, arrived in New Zealand as a refugee.
He was raised in Umphiem, one of the largest refugee camps in Thailand, and that’s where his love for the sport began.
Eh Myo, as he’s also known, is one of the sports biggest advocates in the country today. Most players in Auckland are of Filipino or Myanmarese background, and he’s been instrumental in bringing players together to play a sport that while almost unknown in New Zealand, is played in more than 50 countries worldwide.
In some countries takraw is known as “kick volleyball” for all those flips, leaps and reverse kicks that are synonymous with the South-East Asian sport.
Listen to the full story on this sport, the challenges the players face and it’s potential through the eyes of Eh Myo, and hear his remarkable journey from the Thai/Burma border to a new life in Auckland.
