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Gateball is a team sport played with a wooden mallet and wooden balls, on a rectangular field, about 15 meters wide and 20 meters long, between two teams with five players on each team.

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Gateball matches are played with ten balls, each of which is given a number from 1 to 10. The odd numbered balls are red in color, and the even numbered balls are white. Each team is assigned to play with either red or white colored balls. All players within each team are then assigned one numbered ball of the same color. Each player is allowed to only directly strike the ball assigned to them. The field has four targets, three gates and one goal pole.

The objective for each player is to strike their ball through all the gates and finally strike the goal pole. A ball through the gate is awarded one point and striking the goal pole is awarded three points. Players from both teams alternately take turns to strike the balls. A player who clears a gate is allowed to continue their turn. At the end of the match the team with the most points wins the match.

The World Gateball Championship, held every four years, is the only major tournament conducted for the sport.

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Similar Sports

• Croquet — hit plastic or wooden balls using a mallet through hoops
• Roque — an American variation of croquet played on a hard, smooth surface.
• Trugo — players strike a rubber ring, which is called a whell, with a mallet through goalposts (from Australia).

Related Pages

• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports