A decade ago, there were only about 10 Thai Sumo wrestlers, according to Sumio Kurasawa, president of the Sumo Association of Thailand (SAT).

"Today, the number of sumo wrestlers has grown to over a hundred as more young people become interested in the 'game of giants'," he said.

While this traditional Japanese sport might be far less fashionable than the wildly popular forms of Japanese pop culture introduced here, Sumo wrestlers from Thailand have made their presence felt at several recent Asian and global competitions.

"Only a few people know that some Thai Sumo wrestlers have won top Asian awards as well as a silver medal in the recent global competition," Kurasawa said.

"We're still a small association and have not done much publicity in the past years," he explained. "Yet, we've seen more and more Thai teens interested in this sport, and we expect wider interest." Every Sunday afternoon, some 40 enthusiasts, including children and young adults, gather to practice sumo with professional coaches at the SAT office in Bangkok's Soi Pridi Bhanomyong 20 off Sukhumvit Road.

Nicha Wittisirichai, a 14-year-old girl from Suwan Sutharam Wittaya School, has been attending the Sunday class for three years.

Her "love" of the sport began accidentally.

"I was introduced to this Japanese sport at one of the Thai-Japanese cultural exhibitions," the resident of Nonthaburi province said.

"My friend was interested in doing sumo, so I went along with her, and then I fell in love with it myself."

"I also play other sports, but sumo is No 1 since it's fun and you need both brains and physical strength," Nicha said.

Former boxer Thaweesak Anoree got hooked on sumo the first time he saw a match.

"A friend invited me to see a sumo-wrestling match. It looked fun and quite easy to win," the 25-year-old resident of Bangkok's Phra Khanong district said.

Sumo, however, is not as simple as it seems at first glance, he said.

"I tried, and I was defeated. Afterwards I practised very hard for months and became a success," Thaweesak recalled.

"Coaches selected me for the national team. I've been wrestling for it for three years," he says.

Wanwisa Boonnak and Chalong Phatsutham, both of whom are nine years old, said Sumo appealed their sense of fun.

"We live near the association, so one day our parents stopped by to see what then looked like a 'strange' game, and we were invited to join by the older wrestlers. Now we come every week," they said.

Jakraphong Chaorungmethee, who won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 2002 Asian Sumo Championship, told The Nation he had started judo in grade six but switched to sumo five years ago.

"I like sumo because a win or a loss is obvious and transparent," he explained. "The outcome is less dependent on a referee's judgement."

Ryu Murayama, the Japanese coach of the Thai national team, says the charm of sumo is that it requires wrestlers to integrate three things: physical strength, soul and brain.

Essentially, sumo epitomises Eastern philosophy, he says.

"First you've got the brevity of the fight. Then you use your brain to imagine how to defeat your competitor as fast as possible. You need skills, technique and strength to do it," Murayama said.

Jakraphong notes that sumo's attraction is that it leaves no time for vacillation.

"There is no time for hesitation, because you need to decide quickly how to win: there's no time for second thoughts. That's the challenge of it," he explained.

Prior to 1991 there was no official sumo group in Thailand, although a few Thai sumo wrestlers competed at international tournaments. Most of them were judo practitioners who had picked up sumo skills.

Kurasawa said the SAT had been founded after one of his Japanese friends saw Thai wrestlers defeated in Japan.

"I was asked to coach these Thais as a former professional sumo wrestler living in Thailand," he said.

Kurasawa also operates Tokyodo Books. The 16-shop chain sells Japanese books here.

Kurasawa trained members of the Thai national team from 1996 to1998, after which Murayama, a karate expert, took over. Murayama works for Kokuyo International (Thailand) Co.

The SAT has been holding an annual national competition for years to select the best sumo wrestlers for the Asian competition and the global youth competition.

Former champion Jakraphong said the government should provide the SAT with financial support and include sumo as an alternative sport, like judo, on school curriculums.

"That would teach Thai teens about sumo," he noted. "Many would like to try it if they had the chance."

Coach Murayama, however, said sumo faced a few hurdles. First of all there is major misunderstanding that sumo is merely a sport for the obese.

Second, it is believed to be only for boys and young men

Sumo is, in fact, for everyone, Murayama insisted.

"People of any age, both males and females, can do sumo, even little kids or seniors," he said.

The SAT is eager to challenge the stereotypes about sumo.

"We're happy to demonstrate sumo at any school interested in it," Murayama said.

"We hope to see it as an alternative [on school curriculums]."

SAT president Kurasawa said the growing popularity of sumo outside Japan should promote it as a sport for the Olympic Games, especially when the games go to Tokyo in 2016.

In July next year Chiang Mai will host two sumo events.

The 9th Asian Sumo Competition and the 4th Shinsumo (female Sumo) Competition will be held in the northern province, Murayama said.