On Jan. 3, the 2022 Lancang-Mekong Cooperation China Sepaktakraw Open came to a close at the Hongta Sports Center in Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan province. The Chinese team swept the men's and women's foursome and trio competitions.
Eleven teams from China and other five countries along the Lancang-Mekong River — Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam — participated in the tournament. Over the course of the two-day competition, the teams worked together to build the event into a platform to spread friendship and promote people-to-people exchanges.
Thailand and Laos won second and third place in the men's foursome events, respectively, while Vietnam and Myanmar won second and third place in the women's foursome competition, respectively.
China also won the men's and women's trios, while Thailand and Cambodia won second and third place in the men's trios. Finally, Myanmar and Laos came second and third in the women's trios.
The event was jointly hosted by the General Administration of Sport of China and various local government departments in Yunnan. Originating in Southeast Asia, sepaktakraw, or sepak takraw, also known as kick volleyball, is a team sport played with a ball made of rattan or synthetic plastic. The two teams, which are composed of either two to four players, play in an arena that resembles a badminton court.