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The Unlikely Rise of an American Team in a Sport You’ve Never Heard Of

When Ker Cha got the call about the World Cup, it had been more than two years since he had touched a takraw ball. Now he had less than two months to lose the 20 pounds he had put on during the coronavirus pandemic and get back into playing shape. Plus, he learned he would have only two days to train with his teammates before they took off for the 2022 International Sepak Takraw Federation World Cup in South Korea.

So he got kicking.

The exhilarating sport of sepak takraw is essentially volleyball, except that players can’t use their hands and primarily kick the ball over the net.