Myanmar's chinlone ball sport threatened by conflict and rattan shortages

Mastering control of the ever rising and falling rattan chinlone ball instils patience, a veteran of Myanmar’s traditional sport says. “Once you get into playing the game, you forget everything,” 74-year-old Win Tint says. “You concentrate only on your touch, and you concentrate only on your style.” Chinlone, Myanmar’s national game, traces its roots back centuries. Described as a fusion of sport and art, it is often accompanied by music and typically sees men and women playing in distinct ways. Teams of men form a circle, passing the ball among themselves using stylised movements of their feet, knees and heads in a game of “keepy-uppy” with a scoring system that remains inscrutable to outsiders. Women, meanwhile, play solo in a fashion reminiscent of circus acts – kicking the ball tens of thousands of times per session while walking tightropes, spinning umbrellas and balancing on chairs placed atop beer bottles. Participation has declined in recent years with the onset of the CO ... Read full article.