Sport in Myanmar

{{See also|Traditional games of Myanmar}}

During British rule, efforts were made to civilise 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 to chinlone being adapted as the national sport.{{Cite book |last=Hong |first=Fan |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vHjnDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT147 |title=The Routledge Handbook of Sport in Asia |last2=Zhouxiang |first2=Lu |date=2020-05-20 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-59027-6 |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Aung-Thwin |first=Maitrii |date=2012-12-01 |title=Towards a national culture: chinlone and the construction of sport in post-colonial Myanmar |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17430437.2012.744206 |journal=Sport in Society |language=EN |doi=10.1080/17430437.2012.744206 |issn=1743-0437|url-access=subscription }}

Burma has a basketball team, which qualified for the Asian Games in the past.

{{Main|Football in Myanmar}}

Football is the most popular sport in Myanmar.{{cite book |author=Andrew Marshall |url=https://archive.org/details/trouserpeoplesto00mars |title=The Trouser People |publisher=Counterpoint |year=2002 |isbn=9781582431208 |location=Washington DC |pages=[https://archive.org/details/trouserpeoplesto00mars/page/61 61]–63, 32–33, 11113 |url-access=registration}} Similar to football, chinlone ({{langx|my|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.{{cite book |author=Shway Yoe (Sir James George Scott) 1882 |title=The Burman - His Life and Notions |publisher=The Norton Library 1963 |location=New York |pages=317–318, 231–242, 211–216, 376–378, 407–408}}{{cite web |title=Chinlon - Myanmar Traditional Sport |url=http://myanmartravelinformation.com/mti-myanmar-culture/chinlon.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623110224/http://myanmartravelinformation.com/mti-myanmar-culture/chinlon.htm |archive-date=23 June 2006 |df=dmy}}

Equestrian events were held by the royal army in the time of the Burmese kings in the month of Pyatho (December/January).{{cite web |title=Introduction of Myanma Festivals |url=http://www.yangoncity.com.mm/1.About_ygn/9.festival/default.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614002657/http://www.yangoncity.com.mm/1.About_ygn/9.festival/default.asp |archive-date=14 June 2012 |access-date=14 November 2006 |work=Yangon City Development Council |df=dmy}}

{{Excerpt|Myanmar national cricket team#History|paragraphs=1|templates=0|references=0|subsections=yes}}

• Burmese martial arts

{{Reflist}}

{{Myanmar topics}}

{{Sport in Asia}}

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