Malaysia Sports – The Most Popular Sports in Malaysia
Wondering what sports the Malaysians like to play?
Discover everything about the most popular sports in Malaysia in this post. ⚽️
The Most Popular Malaysian Sports
Find below Malaysia national sports, ranked by popularity:
| Rank | Sport |
|---|---|
| 1 | Football |
| 2 | Badminton |
| 3 | Sepak takraw |
| 4 | Rugby union |
| 5 | Hockey |
| 6 | Motorsports |
| 7 | Cycling |
| 8 | Paragliding |
| 9 | Squash |
So there you have them, the most popular sports played in Malaysia! Keep reading below for more information about each sport in Malaysia.
What is the National Sport of Malaysia?
The national sport of Malaysia is Sepak takraw.
Maybe you have never heard of it. Yet, sepak takraw is not only popular in Malaysia but also in many other countries. It is a team sport played between two teams of 2 to 4 players, and it is played on a badminton court. It is basically volleyball but players can use anything but their hands.
Learn More About Malaysia Popular Sports
Malaysia is a monarchic country located in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia, and its capital city is Kuala Lumpur, which counts more than 1,790,000 inhabitants (but more than 7,564,000 if you include the metropolitan area!).
An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its most popular sports. In light of that, I have listed all Malaysia popular sports, and I hope you will love them:
Football
The most popular sport in Malaysia is, by far and away, football.
While it is not very famous or successful, Malaysia has a national football team. Its best record is winning the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup. The under-23 football team also won a gold medal at the 2009 and 2011 Southeast Asian Games. The governing body of football in Malaysia is the Football Association of Malaysia.
Football has been around for a century in Malaysia (since 1921 more precisely).
Famous Malaysian Football players: Mokhtar Dahari, R. Arumugam, Santokh Singh, Soh Chin Ann, Zainal Abidin Hassan, M. Chandran, Shukor Salleh, James Wong, Hassan Sani, Abdul Ghani Minhat
Badminton
The second most popular sport in Malaysia is badminton.
There are several popular racquet sports in Malaysia, but badminton is by far the most popular one and also the one the country is most proficient at: the national badminton team has won 6 silver medals and 3 bronze medals at the Olympic Games.
Asia is a notorious fan of badminton, and a very fierce contender worldwide, and Malaysia is no exception. The most successful Malaysian badminton players are Lee Chong Wei, Chan Peng Soon, and Tan Wee Kiong.
Famous Malaysian Badminton players: Lee Chong Wei, Chan Peng Soon, Tan Wee Kiong, Goh V Shem, Lee Zii Jia, Tan Boon Heong, Misbun Sidek, Goh Liu Ying, Koo Kien Keat, Chong Wei Feng
Sepak takraw
The third most popular sport in Malaysia is sepak takraw.
I have already told you a bit about Malaysia national sport. In fact, it is doing very well in the country, and it is still popular to this day. It was standardized in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur in 1960, but it is now played in many countries, including Canada, Japan, and the United States.
Sepak takraw is a very spectacular sport to watch: you will see athletes jumping very high and doing backflips. Basically, it is a combination of volleyball and martial arts.
Famous Malaysian Sepak takraw players: Azlan Alias, Syahir Rosdi, Harish Kumar, Mladenelli Mladenova, Jasmine Chirac, Anish Thamsun, P.V. Anand, Sreejith Ravi
Rugby union
The fourth most popular sport in Malaysia is rugby union.
Believe it or not, rugby union has a long history in Malaysia, as well as significant participation (more than 40,000 licensed players enjoy the sport). There are more than 300 clubs in Malaysia and even 600 schools teaching the game.
The most notable international contribution of Malaysia to rugby union is the invention of rugby tens, where there are 10 players of rugby on each team. The national Malaysian rugby team is currently ranked 50th in the world ranking.
Number of Rugby union licensed players in Malaysia: 41,050
Famous Malaysian Rugby union players: Azman Osman, Nik Mohd Shahidan Mohd Zain, Seru Pepeli Naqasima, Atunasia Lacadamu Takubu, Faat Hor Rozi, Eto Vaka Saukuru, Harley Phillips
Hockey
The fifth most popular sport in Malaysia is hockey.
To this day, field hockey still enjoys a decent fanbase in Malaysia. In fact, the country was one of the founding members of the Asian Hockey Federation. There is also a governing body for the country itself, named the Malaysian Hockey Confederation.
Also, the national men’s team is really good at hockey, since it is ranked 13th in the world, and 3rd in Asia. It won a silver medal in the 2010 Asian Games. The women’s team is also very successful, being ranked 22nd in the world.
Famous Malaysian Hockey players: Muhammad Razie Abdul Rahim, Muhammad Marhan Mohd. Jalil, Muhammad Firhan Ashaari, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil, Faizal Saari
Motorsports
The sixth most popular sport in Malaysia is motorsports.
Most notoriously, Malaysia annually hosts a Formula One Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit, the Malaysian Grand Prix. The most famous Malaysian Formula One drivers are Alex Yoong, Fairuz Fauzy, and Nabil Jeffri.
There is also motorcycle racing in the country, and Khairul Idham Pawi became the first-ever Malaysian to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing in 2016. Malaysia also hosts a motorcycle Grand Prix, the Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix.
Famous Malaysian Motorsports players: Alex Yoong, Fairuz Fauzy, Nandakumar Puspanathan, Karamjit Singh, Khairul Idham Pawi, Mitchell Gilbert, Douglas Khoo, Akash Nandy, Aaron Lim, Tengku Djan Ley, Nabil Jeffri
Cycling
The seventh most popular sport in Malaysia is cycling.
Cycling is a growing sport overall in Malaysia. Many Malaysians enjoy cycling casually, but there are also amateurs and some professionals. There are several velodromes in the country, and some people also like extreme cycling like mountain biking.
When it comes to international competition, Azizulhasni Awang made history in 2016 when he won the first Olympic bronze medal in a cycling event for Malaysia. After that, he made history once more in 2021 after winning the silver medal in the Olympic men’s keirin final.
Famous Malaysian Cycling players: Azizulhasni Awang, Alex Edmondson, Rosman Alwi, Murugayan Kumaresan, Choy Mow Thim, Daud Ibrahim, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom
Paragliding
The eighth most popular sport in Malaysia is paragliding.
This is a unique entry on this list, yet paragliding is much appreciated among locals and tourists as well. Malaysia has amazing natural landscapes, and paragliding is one of the best ways to discover the country from a fantastic angle.
Paragliding is not really a sport though, and there are no famous Malaysian paragliders, but it is still growing in popularity. It was introduced in the country around 2005 as an extreme sport but it has become more casual over the years.
Squash
The ninth most popular sport in Malaysia is squash.
Finally, there is another racquet sport among the most popular sports in Malaysia. Opposite to many other sports, squash is mostly popular in competitions. It is governed by the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia, and there are annual squash tournaments in the country: the Kuala Lumpur Open and the Malaysian Open.
The biggest success for Malaysia in squash is the national women’s team, which includes the eight-time world champion and world rank number 1 in women squash Nicol David.
Famous Malaysian Squash players: Nicol David, Sivasangari Subramaniam, Low Wee Wern, Aifa Azman, Rachel Arnold, Low Wee Nee, Wen Li Lai, Ooi Kah Yan, Andrea Lee, Eain Yow Ng
So there you have them, these were all the most popular sports of Malaysia. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today.
In case you want to learn more about sports in other countries, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about:
More Sport Facts!
Loved these Malaysia sports facts? Want to see what sports are the most popular in other countries?
Then check out these posts:
Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.
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