“1,2, catch… 1,2, catch… 1,2, catch…” goes the monotonous rhythm in my head as I bounce a palm-sized, bright yellow foam ball with the word Jombola printed on it against the wall of Sri Dasmesh International School in Taman Bukit Pantai, Kuala Lumpur.
The sound of a loud thunder clap and the sight of a flash of lightning startle me and I stop. Without warning, the heavens open and rain comes pelting down.
Looking forlorn beside me is my photographer, his heavy equipment in hand. Sighing, he looks at me before asking dejectedly: “Macam mana nak tangkap gambar? (How are we going to do our photoshoot?)”
Before I can reply him, a deep clear voice from behind me replies teasingly: “I could always stand in the shelter here and I’m sure the rain will make for a striking backdrop!”
It’s Sukdev Singh, the school’s principal and the man behind the sport known as Jombola. Swiftly handing over two racquets — one yellow and another red – that are just slightly longer and heavier than a ping pong bat, he ushers us into the comfort of the school’s library.
“If not for the rain, you could have actually had a go with the ball at the test court we have near the school’s entrance,” he says, sounding regretful. That said, the rain didn’t deter me from at least trying to bat the ball once or twice against the wall of the library while Sukdev is having his photos taken outside.
For a severely ‘un-sporty’ person such as myself, I found it rather simple to drive the ball back and forth without much exertion.
“That’s what Jombola is all about!” exclaims Sukdev, joining me once again.
Adding, he says: “You cannot find a more versatile sport than Jombola. With just a simple ball and racquet, you can start playing, exercising or even have a competition with anyone and anywhere and at any time you like. It’s that simple to pick up.”
Hunt for the perfect equipment
Although Jombola is not entirely a new game in the sporting scene, it’s still relatively unknown to many.
This unique game merges the playing skills of tennis and squash, the point systems of badminton and the gameplay of table tennis. It was unintentionally conceived by Sukdev for his children in the early-2000s when his family’s tennis game was interrupted by skateboarders.
“I didn’t set out to create a new sport,” shares the 63-year-old, adding: “I’ve always loved playing tennis. So, when the kids were old enough, I took them to the public courts at Taman Melawati in KL to play. We arrived at 5pm. But by 5.30pm, the courts were overrun by skateboarders making it impossible to play.”
As an alternative, they decided to bounce tennis balls at a practice wall behind the courts instead.
However, with the balls being light, it kept flying over the wall and into the forested area on the other side. “I spent more time looking for the balls in the ‘jungle’ than actually playing with my kids,” he reveals laughing.
That triggered his decision to hunt for the perfect ball that would be softer yet had a little more weight. “Everywhere I went, my eyes would be roving for a ball that I could take home and try. By the time I finally came up with the perfect ball, I had accumulated a collection of 34 different balls!” shares Sukdev.
As he was hunting for the perfect ball, Sukdev also realised that the tennis racquets they were using on the different balls were too huge. It wasn’t conducive as it adds momentum when the balls were hit. And that’s when he decided to search for the perfect racquet!
“I even went as far as to buy all sorts of chopping boards to test out. Wooden ones, plastic ones, anything that I felt somewhat resembled a ping pong bat but heavier so it could give the ball the right inertia. I even cut them out in different shapes to see what worked. If it didn’t, I’d chuck them aside and start all over again,” explains Sukdev who has a background in engineering.
Not long after, he rallied around some friends and family members to test out his equipment. Unknowingly, he’d turned his mission into a proper experiment with control groups and a proper well-managed feedback system.
There were plenty of trials and errors. But it all paid off in 2006 when he found the perfect racquet which he had fashioned from wood and the perfect ball from foam.
“I kept the racquet short because anything longer would make it harder to handle. It’d be like holding an oar!” says Sukdev, chuckling.
Putting it in play
This intriguing ball game slowly began to take shape when Sukdev hit upon some ideas on how the game could be played, with proper rules and instructions in place.
“I thought to myself that since I have a racquet and a ball already, why not make a game out of it? After all, we can’t be hitting against a wall for the rest of our lives, can we?” he poses rhetorically.
That turned his passion for invention into a pursuit for a new and competitive sport for the masses. He eventually settled with using badminton courts as the playing field due to its accessibility to the public.
“Not a lot of people know that we have a lot of abandoned badminton courts in the country. Every kampong, every school and every neighbourhood I’m sure will have some. And they’re under-utilised because the cost of shuttlecocks has become so expensive that it’s no longer a game for the poor man,” says Sukdev.
The game was gradually developed in his school grounds. The first proper game that Sukdev played was in 2006 with his brother-in-law, who’s the sports teacher in the school, and his two nephews.
Soon, other students were invited to test out the equipment and after several observations, he eventually settled on the perfect net height (four feet four), scoring method (mostly derivative from badminton), as well as gameplay rules.
He even organised tournaments among the students so that kinks could be ironed out and to ensure that the game could develop into something bigger than just a recreational sport. By 2013, when he was satisfied with his ‘invention’, Sukdev began to introduce the game to colleges, universities, and schools.
To date, Jombola has been introduced to most schools in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Selangor. The game has even penetrated several private and government universities as well as colleges in the city. It has also been introduced to a handful of learning institutions in India, China and Korea.
In addition, the sport is currently endorsed and supported by the Youth and Sports Ministry as well as the Education Ministry. And with Sukdev holding the presidential position in the Jombola Association, his aspiration to further the sport onto a bigger arena may one day be realised.
“It may not happen while I’m around… not at my age,” he confides solemnly, before continuing: “But I’m certain that down the road, there will be people who would be able to take this game far and be ambassadors of the sport. Think of Jombola now as how badminton was in the 1920s.”
Notable moments
New games are being created all the time. But what makes Jombola different from the rest is its adaptability (it can be played indoors or outdoors, rain or shine), its ready infrastructure (badminton courts), its popular gameplay (tennis skills), and its sustainability (reasonably priced and hardy equipment).
“Anybody who first touches the ball will automatically start bouncing the ball,” says Sukdev, eyes sparkling. “There’s just something magnetic about bouncy balls that brings out the child in us. And it happens with everyone! Including the many big shots and CEOs I’ve introduced the game to.”
His drive to put Malaysia on the world sporting map is admirable. It almost achieved a pinnacle moment when it was proposed for entry into the SEA Games last year. But due to unforeseen circumstances, the game was held back.
“I’m not going to give up though,” says Sukdev with conviction, adding: “My next aim is to bring it to the SEA Games in Manila next year. And hopefully, to the Olympics too!”
For Sukdev, it’s the journey in forming the sport that has been most memorable for him and his family. “The funniest invention I’ve ever tried was sticking two cups together. After playing with it for an hour, the cups would come flying apart!” he recounts, chuckling. “And obviously, the server would receive a point because the receiving opponent wouldn’t know which cup to go for!”
Smiling, he recalls another humorous incident — the time when they tried using inflatable balls. “It worked perfectly fine when we were playing it in the city. But one time we brought it up to Genting, the low air pressure inflated the ball so big we thought it might just explode if we even tried whacking it!”
As we both chuckle at the story, I soon realise how late it’s getting. The school ground is eerily silent now and there’s no one in sight except for us. The rain continues to pelt. Sukdev offers to grab an umbrella from his car which is much closer to the library.
As he walks me out into the rain, Sukdev confides: “My idea of creating this sport and pushing it onto the world stage is not for profit. That’s why my equipment are all reasonably priced and hardy. Some schools are still using the same balls they bought from me two years ago.”
Continuing, he says: “I just want to see people playing the sport and enjoying it. When I go out and drive by a school, I want to see kids there playing Jombola shouting and screaming. I want to drive past a public park and see families playing it.”
His eyes light up when he concludes: “I’d like Jombola to be something we can be proud of. I want to see Malaysia’s name etched in the world sporting map for this sport. But essentially, this is game for everyone – of all ages, gender, and background.”
For more info, visit www.jombola.com