Guangzhou, November 25 - A bit of Volleyball, a bit of Football plus a bit of Kongfu - Here comes Sepaktakraw. The "unique" sport at the Guangzhou Asian Games has given the hosts Chinese a genuine culture shock.

"It's really really special," said Huang Yunwen, a Guangzhou citizen, who is yelling "go ahead" with the excited crowds at the Haizhu Stadium for the sport that she never heard of two hours ago.

"These guys are not playing sports, they are more like practising Kongfu," said Huang. She refers to the Thai players spiking the plastic woven ball over net with their feet airborne.

However, what impressed the 28-year-old woman most is not the players' skilful acrobatic kicks but the atmosphere of the game.

Malay players had their own way of celebration. High-five was not enough. They danced and made faces to their rivals over the net every time after they scored a point.

Hilarious Thai fans, dressed in their colorful traditional costumes or wearing a three-faced buddha mask, played drums and sang the songs for festivals, making the competition a gala of Thai culture.

"It's a like a party, but not a game. Everyone, on or off the court, is so high," said Huang.

Popular in Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, Sepaktakraw is played between two three-member teams on a court divided by a shoulder-height net. It's basically a Volleyball game, but with no-hands rule. Players have to use their feet, knee, chest and head keep the the hollow ball aloft.

The name sepaktakraw comes from the Malayan word "sepak", which means "kick" and "takraw", meaning "woven ball". The sport developed from a game called sepak raga, which was played in the Malay states in the 15th century. It's at the 1990 Beijing Games Sepaktakraw was included as an Asiad staple.

Thailand is king of the sports as they have wrapped four of the six gold Sepaktakraw medals at Guangzhou Asiad so far.

"I have known the sport since I was born," said Anoma Thomgmanogoon, a reporter from the Channel 3 Thailand, who is assigned to cover the Guangzhou Games. "It's so popular in Thailand, from the royal family to the common people."

According to Thomgmanogoon, who is based in Bangkok, Sepaktakraw is more played in the rural areas, but it is on the curriculum of all the schools and colleges, and the retired seniors often take it an entertainment to keep fit.

"It's just like Table Tennis in China. We all love the game. We have hundreds of clubs, and the good Sepaktakraw players are as famous as film stars," she said.

Host China has also sent teams to Guangzhou, and the women teams make history to win the first Sepaktakraw silver medal after a straight loss 0-2 to the Thais.

"It's a new and small sport in China, but I want to tell my fellow countrymen it's a sport full of fun, and they should join us," said the Chinese player Liu Xiaofang.

Born to a worker's family in north China's Hebei Province, the 20-year-old has practised Sepaktakraw for seven years.

"Actually, the sport is very suitable for Chinese, as it requires less strength but more agility," she said. "Give us more time, we can win a gold in the coming few years."

With 14 more sports than the Olympics, the Asian Games is trying to get fit by dropping the lesser-known sports. But tell that to Liu and the packed stadium of fans at the Sepaktakraw competitions.