Naing Naing Win, captain of the Myanmar women’s hoop-takraw team, practises at a gymnasium at the Thuwunna sports complex, Yangon, on October 16 in preparation for the 2nd Asian Indoor Games which kick off in Macau this Friday. Pic: Aye Zaw Myo

THERE are high hopes for Myanmar’s hoop-takraw and billiards teams being sent to the 2nd Asian Indoor Games in Macau, China, from October 26 to November 3, coaches said last week.

Myanmar came home from the 2005 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Manila with gold in both sports and there should be few surprises from opponents in Macau due to experiences at recent regional competitions.

Myanmar will compete in both the men’s and women’s hoop-takraw events in the absence of sepaktrakraw at the 15-sport Games. Billiards is the only other event Myanmar entered.

“Our main rivals are definitely going to be Thailand and I’m sure they will be working hard to give their best performance seeing as this is one of their traditional sports and we beat them in Manila,” said hoop-takraw coach Captain Kyaw Zin Moe, who is also secretary of the Myanmar Sepaktakraw Federation.

“I’m sure they are eager to get their revenge on us, and it’s going to be even more competitive in the coming SEA Games in Thailand because it will be on their home ground,” he added.

“My only goal at every game is to win and I believe we can do it.”
Hoop-takraw differs from sepaktakraw, which resembles volleyball played with the feet, in that there is no opposing team. Instead, five players form a circle in which they use their feet to volley a cane ball among themselves with the aim of putting it through a ring and into a net 15 feet off the ground. The team with the most “goals” after 30 minutes wins.

Myanmar, which sent no teams to the first Indoor Asian Games in Bangkok in 2005, is well prepared for hoop-takraw in Macau, where they will be up against 12 other countries, said 2006 Coach of the Year Captain Kyaw Zin Moe.

“At the last SEA Games in Manila we only had four months of training and we still won gold medals, but for this tournament all my players are well-trained and full of confidence after 10 months of practice,” he said.

The men’s and women’s teams are comprised of veterans from the sides’ 2005 SEA Games gold-medal runs as well as promising new players.
Women’s captain Ma Naing Naing Win said she was sure they would return with gold medals early next month.

“The team includes new generation players, and they are fabulous. I hope to see performances from them the same as they have been showing in practice,” she said.

Men’s skipper Than Zaw Oo said he was optimistic but expressed caution regarding a determined Thai side.

“I really want to win but I can’t guarantee it because we don’t know how they have improved from the last SEA Games. But it’s definitely going to be competitive,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll do well at the tournament and we should make the final.”

Billiards coach Dr Min Naing said cueists Aung Htay and Aung Sann Oo would be against familiar competition in Macau, which would include some of the world’s best players.

“As usual, the strong players will be from India, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. I’m not worried about my players because their opponents in Macau are players they have already met in previous tournaments,” Dr Min Naing said.

Aung Htay finished third at the Asian Billiards Championship in Doha this June, while Aung Sann Oo had clinched the title at the previous year’s edition.
More recently, Aung Sann Oo made it to the final 16 of the World Billiards Championship in Singapore last month, which was won by India’s Rupesh Shah who saw off compatriot Ashok Shadlya in the final.

Macau’s knock-out style tournament will feature 17 players from India, Myanmar Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Qatar, Indonesia, Macau, Iraq and Singapore.

Dr Min Naing said the tournament would be important preparation for the SEA Games in Korat this December.

“We’ll meet the same competitors that will be in Macau and my players are under no pressure this time,” he said.