Myanmar has several sports, with some of them having come duringBritish rule.
During British rule, efforts were made tocivilise the local people, with British sports identified as one way to aid in this process. After independence in 1948, nation-building initiatives and the desire to unite the people using the native culture led tochinlone being adapted as the national sport.[1][2]
Burma has abasketball team, which qualified for theAsian Games in the past.
Football is the most popular sport in Myanmar.[3] Similar to football,chinlone (Burmese:ခြင်းလုံး) is an indigenous sport that utilises a rattan ball and is played using mainly the feet and the knees, but the head and also the arms may be used except the hands.[4][5]
Equestrian events were held by the royal army in the time of the Burmese kings in the month ofPyatho (December/January).[6]
Cricket in Myanmar dates back to when Burma was a province ofBritish India. The British brought the game there, as they did to the rest of India, and the game progressed to the level where theMarylebone Cricket Club played two two-dayfirst class matches there on a tour to India in 1926/1927. The first of these was played at theGymkhana ground inRangoon against aRangoon Gymkhana cricket team. That game was drawn with the MCC on top after forcing the home side tofollow-on. The second game was against the Burma team themselves at theBAA Ground, also in Rangoon. The MCC won this game restricting Burma to low scores in both their innings, and only having to chase 7 runs to win in their second innings. These remains the country's only first class games.
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