Chinlone has played a prominent role in Myanmar for about 1,500 years. Its style is performance-based because it was first created as a demonstrative means of activity for entertaining Burmese royalty. Chinlone is heavily influenced by traditional Burmese
martial arts and dance, another reason as to why so much importance is placed upon technique. As it is such an old game, many variations have been made to it, including hundreds of moves for maneuvering the ball. In addition to the original form of chinlone, there is a single performance style called
tapandaing. While chinlone had been widely considered by Europeans to be more of a game than an actual sport, international interest in chinlone grew rapidly. By 1911, chinlone teams were performing in parts of Europe and Asia. As spectators of chinlone, Europeans derisively deemed it to be merely an entertaining game of indigenous people, too passive and not violent or masculine enough to be considered a sport. After Myanmar's independence from British colonial rule in 1948, many British influences and cultural practices lingered, including those of British sports such as cricket and polo. British
colonialism dominant culture still weighed heavily upon Burmese life. From the 1960s onward, the government strongly promoted traditional and historical preservation in an effort to renew native cultural pride. Myanmar needed to focus on traditions that were unique to Burmese culture, free from any colonial influence. Chinlone fit this role perfectly, playing a key part in establishing Burmese nationalism. Myanmar began implementing physical education in schools, teaching children from a young age about traditional activities and sports like chinlone as a way to educate and increase pride in their own culture. This was a small yet effective way in reestablishing unique Burmese life after many generations of colonial rule. With this newfound
nationalism, chinlone was finally considered a real and cooperative sport. The head of the Burma Athletic Association, U Ah Yein, was ordered by the Burmese government to write a rulebook for chinlone in 1953. These rules forced chinlone to become more competitive, and the first official chinlone competition was held in
Yangon that same year. In addition to providing chinlone with an official set of rules, U Ah Yein's chinlone rulebook claimed chinlone to be unique to Myanmar only, as the birthplace of the game. While chinlone does distinctively go back far into Burmese tradition, there are many similar sports closely related to it across many other
Southeast Asian countries, such as
da cau (
Vietnam), kator (
Laos),
sepak raga (
Malaysia,
Singapore,
Brunei and
Indonesia),
sipa (
Philippines) and
takraw (
Thailand).
SEA Games At the
2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, chinlone made its debut as a contested sport and was also featured in the closing ceremony. The inclusion of chinlone was controversial as other countries were not adequately prepared to compete in a uniquely Burmese sport. Chinlone was also contested in
2017,
2023 and
2025. ==In popular culture==