Berhampur, April 18: Meet 22-year-old youngster Prabhakar Pathy, who is struggling to popularise sepak takraw, a game that originated in Thailand.

“Only seven players in Berhampur — my elder brother Dibakar Pathy, Siba Prasad Das, Simanchal Behera, Santosh Behera, Dilip Patnaik and Sipun Mohanty — practise this game without any formal training,” said Prabhakar, who represents Odisha in national events and has also participated in an international event in Bangkok last year.

The royal family of Malaysia popularised sepak takraw around 500 years ago. The name is derived from two languages — sepak (kick) in Malay and takraw (ball) in Thai.

The Buddhist temple in Bangkok contains murals depicting Hanuman playing “takraw” in a ring with a troop of monkeys. Other historical documents record the game being played during the reign of King Naresuan (1590-1605).

Today, sepak takraw is played on courts in professional tournaments such as the Asian games and the prized King’s Cup, which is held every year in Bangkok. The first international Sepak takraw competition was held in Malaysia in 1965.

In 1990, sepak takraw was included at the Asian Games in Beijing. The first women’s championships in Thailand was hosted in 1997.

The national championship of sepak takraw was held at Tangi College in Odisha last February. Odisha secured sixth position in the men’s section and third in women’s section.

“There are only 50 to 60 players in Odisha who are practicising sepak takraw and we need adequate infrastructure to develop the game in the state,” said Prabhakar

“Takraw clubs and associations are coming up in Europe and the USA. I fail to understand why are steps not being taken to popularise this game in Odisha,” he said.

Prabhakar was selected to participate in the Bangkok international tournament last February.

“However, I could not attend this tournament because of financial constraints. The national federation and state government should provide the expenses,” he said

Prabhakar and his brother Dibakar were encouraged by their parents to play and popularise the game.

“Sepak takraw is relatively unknown game here. But I have had advised both my sons to be sincere in their efforts,” said Prabhakar’s father Nalinikanta Pathy.