"I have played soft tennis since I was eight," he told Reuters after winning through to the men's singles final of the Asian Games.

"And no, I do not play regular tennis, it seems to me to be very aggressive.

"Our tennis is gentler -- more soft, like the name," he grinned.

While in Europe the term evokes a children's game, played with plastic rackets and a sponge ball, in Asia it is a sport played by more than 40 nations and with a history almost as old as its parent.

Invented in Japan after tennis had been introduced to the country at the end of the 19th century, more than five million now play the game which features lighter rackets and a much softer ball.

With its powder-puff serves and gently underspun backhands, the exponents of the sport can barely have changed their strategies since the originators dreamt up the discipline.

It remains competitive and charming in equal measure.

Players race around the court with single-minded focus, yet no line calls are disputed. No rackets are thrown nor umpires berated.

There are no ball-boys scurrying after fuzzy yellow balls.

While it is less aggressive than lawn tennis, it is no less tactically sophisticated.

"You have to think and read your opponent's mind," said Mami Inoue, a soft tennis teacher from Tokyo.

"For me playing soft tennis is more difficult than tennis. In tennis the ball flies very easily, but soft tennis balls fly by driving and spinning.

"You have to guess where an opponent will shoot the ball and really out-manoeuvre her. That is why it is so much fun. It is fast-moving yet precise."

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