Asia’s Underrated Sports
By Kelli Luu | 21 Oct, 2025

These niche Asian sports are gaining global popularity with their speed, power, and impressive competition.

In the U.S., when we think of sports we picture baseball or football, but across the globe in Asia, athletes are playing some of the most intense sports that don’t get nearly enough spotlight. 

Starting off with badminton, a quiet powerhouse sport. 

It has been played for centuries all over Eurasia and was modernized in the mid-19th century throughout British India. The game became very popular in India by the 1870s and in 2016 Premier Badminton League was established, operating nine franchise teams along with top international badminton talent. 

Other badminton leagues can be found in countries like China, South Korea, and Malaysia. It is the fastest racket sport in the world and some Olympic champions are hitting speeds of 300 miles per hour , meaning this game requires power, precision, and mental strength. 

Next, is a sport that’s all about contact and chaos. 

Kabaddi originated in ancient India and is basically like a game of tag, except with tackling. It is the national sport of Bangladesh and is played by both men and women throughout South Asia. Two teams of seven face off with the goal of crossing into enemy territory to tag as many opponents as possible. 

Although it has been around for centuries, the Pro Kabaddi League was started in India in 2014. The brutality that comes along with this game and the strategy needed to win makes Kabaddi the third most popular sport to watch in India. 

Finally, we have a showstopper. 

Sepak Takraw is volleyball, but with no hands. It was first introduced in Southeast Asia not as a game, but as a way to get physical exercise in. Players can only use their feet, knees, and chest to keep a small ball up in the air and over the net to the other team. 

It wasn’t until 1965 when the Asian Sepaktakraw Federation was established and was then introduced in the 1970 Asian Games as a demonstration sport played by Malaysian and Thai teams. Today there are over 30 countries with national Sepak Takraw organizations that are slowly gaining international fans as clips of mid-air kicks and impossible saves go viral across social media.