February 4-7, 2023, 「The 3rd Thailand Open Masters Games 2023」 was held in the Sriracha district of Chonburi, Thailand. Gateball has been adopted in 17 sports at this year’s Masters Games.
Despite the COVID pandemic,five countries, South Korea, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan and Thailand participated in this tournament.

This year’s Gateball tournament was organized by the Thai Gateball Union. Chairperson Ms. Kulpalee Kingminghae and young management staff. The World Gateball Union has maintained a close relationship for 10 years since the establishment of the Thai Gateball Union.

The first day of the Gateball tournament is players and teams registration, a representative meeting, and an official practice day. From 5 p.m., the opening ceremony of the 3rd Thailand Open Masters Games 2023 was grandly held.

This year’s Gateball tournament was held in three categories.
The Thai Gateball Union is actively developing variation games.

Day 2  is a classic game with no age limit. The league matches are finished in the morning, and the tournament matches are played in the afternoon.
32 teams participated in this category.

Day 2 Results Classic Games

Day 3, Doubles matches with no age limit. As on the first day, the league matches were played in the morning, and the tournament matches were played in the afternoon.
38 teams participated in this category.

Day 3 Results Open Doubles

Day 4 is the final day of the tournament, doubles match limited to seniors (over 60 years old).
35 teams participated in this category.

Day 4 Results　Senior Doubles

Looking back on the 3rd Thailand Open Masters Games 2023 Gateball Tournament.
Despite the COVID pandemic, there were 32 teams participating in the classic games tournament, 38 teams in the doubles match, and 35 teams in the senior doubles match.
I felt that the level of the Gateball players and teams in Southeast Asia had improved. In particular, the semi-finals, finals and third-place matches in the doubles matches were interesting games, and while the Korean and Hong Kong teams used almost the same strategies and tactics as Japan, the local Thai young players and Indian players were aggressive. They were aiming to pass through the gate and touch. As a result, the Indian team won the doubles match, but in the final there were some lucky moments with a few minutes left and the Hong Kong team failed to take advantage on a single chance. The Gateball level in Southeast Asia has improved dramatically over the past decade. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

Another thing I would like to appreciate is the referees of the tournament. Seventeen are university students in Udon Thani Province. In Thailand, Thai Gateball Union started training referees from a young age. Thai Gateball Union is at the forefront of WGU members. The future of Gateball in Thailand is bright.

Report & Photo／Keiichi Imagawa（World Gateball Union）