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Strife-torn Myanmar won its first medal at the Asian Games in China on Wednesday, beating Indonesia to take home gold in men’s sepaktakraw, a popular regional sport also known as kick volleyball.
The Southeast Asian nation took two straight sets from Indonesia in the sport with similarities to volleyball, but played only with the feet, knees, head and chest.
Myanmar has been overwhelmed by violence since the military seized power in February 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The takeover triggered mass nonviolent protests nationwide and the military and police responded with deadly force. That gave rise to armed resistance, which has since turned into what U.N. experts have characterized as a civil war.
In comments after the sepaktakraw win, Burmese player Tun Thant Zin said the team was dedicating the gold medal “to our people back home.”
“This is our first gold medal in Hangzhou,” he said. “It has been very difficult for us to win but our coaching staff and the players have been very united and we deserved to win this.”
Sepaktakraw originated in rural Southeast Asia, with several countries laying claim to creating it. Its name is a literal translation, with “sepak” coming from the term used for kick in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, and “takraw” being the Thai word for the woven ball.
