The Vietnamese and foreign players knelt at the ready, six a side, staring down their opponents from across a verdant field before racing to the center line where four balls were placed as they kicked off their match in Vietnam’s inaugural 'quidditch' tournament.

Quidditch is a niche sport inspired by the fictional game played in J.K. Rowling’s famous 'Harry Potter' novels, combining elements of handball, dodgeball, and rugby.

The sport gained its first popularity on college campuses across the United States in the mid-2000s before expanding globally, according to South China Morning Post.

In Vietnam, the quidditch community has been established for more than four years, with a total of nearly 100 players in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Vietnam has participated and achieved great rankings in global quidditch competitions, including fourth place at the Asia Quidditch Cup 2019 in South Korea and 15th position at the 2018 International Quidditch Association World Cup in Italy, according to the Vietnam Quidditch Association (VQA).

The maiden VQA-organized quidditch cup kicked off at the main campus of Ly Tu Trong College in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, on Sunday morning.

A total of 60 players of different nationalities formed three mix-gendered teams to compete in six games under a round-robin format during the day-long event.

“I feel happy to play such a new sport, which is beneficial to the players in terms of both physical training and strategic thinking,” Bao, who had practiced quidditch in Ho Chi Minh City for eight months prior to the tournament, told Tuoi Tre News in Sunday’s competition.

“[In quidditch,] teamwork and tactics matter just as much as physical strength,” Bao said.

According to Bao, although people may have a weird look at quidditch as a sport at first sight, they will come to find it interesting if they actually play it.

Toku, a young quidditch player from Vietnam who opted to go by his nickname, told Tuoi Tre News that one of quidditch’s biggest draws is its progressive attitude toward gender issues and the LGBTQ community.

“The rule of the sport requires that teams field no more than four players identifying as the same gender, and no positions are restricted by sex,” Toku explained.

“Female players may complement male players with agility and mental dexterity.”

Andrew, a young Malaysian office worker who has eight years of experience in quidditch and came to Ho Chi Minh City with his Japanese friend, Jack, to participate in the Vietnamese quidditch cup, shared the same opinion.

Andrew said that he just likes the nature of the sport, how it allows guys, girls, and different genders to engage in the game together as one team.

Andrew and Jack both said that they have been able to grow a network of friends around the world thanks to quidditch.

VQA co-founder Hiep Nguyen admitted to Tuoi Tre News that quidditch has rarely set a local sporting standing in Vietnam and there are occasional difficulties in attracting and retaining players.

However, Hiep affirmed his passion for quidditch as well as his belief in the growth of the sport and the Vietnam Quidditch Association in the future.

He revealed that a Vietnamese team will compete at a quidditch friendly in the United States next year.

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