Written by: Luke Chiang
Edited by: Chen Kexin and Lydia Ong
Photos by: EusoffWorks
You’ve seen people playing Volleyball, but what about Volleyball with legs? Introducing the sport of Sepak Takraw!! The sport has origins in Malay culture dating back all the way to the 15th century. Despite being of Malay origin, the name Sepak Takraw was coined from the Malay word for kick(sepak) and the Thai word for a woven rattan ball(takraw). Now, that’s some cool cultural fusion right there!
Helming Eusoff's Sepak Takraw team for the AY 20/21 season is Gaele Loi from A Block. He’s not a man of many words, but actions speak louder. Gaele's experience in Takraw includes 1 year in secondary school as well as playing Takraw for Eusoff since Year 1. Despite only having a year’s experience before coming to hall, he's managed to capture a medal to start his collection.
Despite the Takraw team’s loss at the semi final stage in last year's IHG, Gaele lives by the quote: "You're never a loser until you quit trying". Truly the right direction coming into this year's IHG season! Adding on to his resilient character, Gaele had actually previously suffered an injury which had him out of training for 3 weeks, but he is still fervently pressing on without fear.
This AY, however, is a little different than previous AYs. In light of the recent Covid-19 pandemic, NUS had implemented zoning measures to curb the spread of the virus (as you all know). This meant that team sports such as Takraw could not have the team all training at the venue on the same days unless it only involved people in the same zone. Friendlies were cancelled to reduce contact between students from different faculties as well. This results in what Gaele describes as "not match fit" since players don't really have a feel of actual gameplay. As a result, the Takraw team (like other sports teams) has had difficulty training to their fullest potential. "Having only 1 court to use in hall with a 1hr 30min booking is probably the greatest challenge the team faces," said Gaele, "Last AY, we had 3 hours to train and help develop a team, so it's a pretty hard blow to us."
You might think all this sounds pretty bleak, but fear not! Unlike the common (and let’s be honest, lazy) man, our legendary captain took the time during circuit breaker to come up with drills and game plans to help inexperienced players get into the game for this IHG 20/21 season.
On his vision for EH Takraw, Gaele hopes to raise the passion for the sport as well as its popularity. For him, the team's performance during IHG is important but fostering a community which is fun and enjoyable is critical to the team's development.
"My philosophy is that Takraw should be played with creativity. It can be an eye-catching sport, and if played well, has the potential to attract many viewers. This is the primary goal and I feel that if we all strive for this, everything else like team harmony and good results will follow - since our goals and vision are aligned. Hopefully, this will be upheld for subsequent batches to come."
As you can see, Gaele is in it for the long run and is a man of great foresight. Undoubtedly, he will lead Eusoff’s Sepak Takraw team to greater heights this year - may they achieve their goals and get that IHG win!
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