10 alternative sports in Malaysia

The world of sport is constantly evolving. New sports are developed all over the world all the time and if their popularity picks up, they spread to other countries.

While Malaysians are generally a sport-loving society, especially for badminton and football, there are however, many other sports that some of us have never heard of which are becoming more popular in Malaysia.

Many of these games have proper regulations set by their respective international associations and are played competitively worldwide.

Taking to public parks, fields, and courts this week, StarMetro explores 10 sports that are played in Malaysia.

1 Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a contact team sport that originated from Native American culture. Teams of 10 players use lacrosse sticks, which are long and tipped with a mesh, to fling a small rubber ball into the opponent’s goal. Checking is permitted in men’s lacrosse, giving the sport a reputation for being rough. Men are required to wear helmets and a substantial amount of padding, but not women, as women’s lacrosse only permits stick checking, not body checking. The sport was introduced to Malaysia this year by the Malaysia Lacrosse Association.

2 Touch Rugby

The popularity of touch rugby in Malaysia can be attributed to the fact that the sport can be played on almost any open field. Touch rugby is a limited-contact sport that can be played by mixed-gender teams of six. When touched by an opponent, a player must drop the ball for a teammate to pick up, and a team has a limited number of touches with which a try must be scored before a turnover occurs. There are no conversions or field goals in touch rugby. Malaysia is hosting the Federation of International Touch (FIT) World Cup in 2019.

3 Floorball

Many people may not have heard of floorball, but the sport has a sizeable following in Malaysia. Floorball is a fast-paced hardcourt hockey played in an enclosed rink by teams of six, inclusive of a goalkeeper. Invented in Sweden, floorball is most popular in Europe, though it has since expanded worldwide, gaining IOC recognition in 2008. The Malaysian men’s floorball team saw some success at this year’s SEA Games in Singapore, taking home the bronze medal.

4 Dodgeball

Dodgeball in Malaysia was pretty much unheard of until the last decade. This is another sport that expanded through youth players and is quite popular with students. Malaysia achieved notable success at the Dodgeball World Championship in Las Vegas last month, taking second and third placing for the men’s and women’s teams, respectively, out of eight participating countries.

5 Woodball

Unlike most of the other sports on this list, woodball is not new in Malaysia as it was introduced to the country by the Malaysian Woodball Association 20 years ago. The sport is similar to croquet, where players use mallets to hit a large wooden ball through a gate in the lowest number of shots. There are a number of woodball courses across the country, but the majority of them are located in Pahang, where woodball is most popular.

6 Inline Hockey

Inline hockey is essentially ice hockey played on hard surfaces on inline skates. Needless to say, the sport tends to be popular with ice hockey enthusiasts. However, ice hockey is more popular in Malaysia, despite the lack of ice- skating rinks for the sport. Players use the same type of hockey stick and padding, but the puck used in inline hockey is much lighter, made of plastic, and designed to have lower friction against the court surface.

7 Quidditch

Fans of the Harry Potter books and movies will be very familiar with this one. The real-life version of Quidditch was only founded 10 years ago in the United States, but it is played worldwide by small groups. This limited-contact sport combines elements of handball and dodgeball, using a volleyball and three dodgeballs for gameplay. Similar to the fictional version of the sport, players must carry a broomstick between their legs as a form of handicap. Quidditch is unique in the sense that it has a mandatory mixed-gender rule for teams.

8 Speed Badminton

Despite the name, speed badminton is very different from badminton. The sport originated in Germany in 2001 and it can be played almost anywhere — indoors, open fields, flat rooftops and even beaches. Speed badminton racquets are similar to squash racquets but lighter, while the “speeders” used in the sport are heavier than shuttlecocks, with less wind resistance. There is no net and players play across two square courts separated by a wide space. Speed badminton is currently only played in Penang, but the following is steadily growing.

9 Jombola

Jombola is the latest sport to have been invented by a Malaysian. Played on a badminton court with large wooden paddles (called racquets) and a specially developed foam ball, the sport combines elements of badminton, tennis and table-tennis. The sport is still quite new and being introduced through universities both local and abroad, but it is slowly building up a following.

10 Ultimate Frisbee

Ultimate Frisbee is likely the most well-known and fastest growing sport worldwide on this list. This no-contact team sport pits teams of seven players against each other with the objective of getting the disc to a player in the opponent’s end zone. It is easy for new teams to pick up because all that is needed to start playing is a frisbee. The sport was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2013.

Special thanks to the teams, groups and associations that gave their kind cooperation for this story and video.