An Asian soft tennis official said on Wednesday that efforts are expected to make to propel soft tennis into the Olympic Games.

"In ten years my goal is to see soft tennis being played at the Olympic Games," said Japanese Hiroshi Hoshino, a technical delegate of the Asian Soft Tennis Federation at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on Wednesday.

"To do that we have to work hard to promote the sport in all continents.

"We have been promoting soft tennis to countries in Europe and have also dispatched coaches to India and Thailand to teach young players more about the sport."

At the end of the 19th century, tennis was introduced to Japan by a western missionary, and was later modified for the Asian physique. A special racket and ball were developed, and the game became known as soft tennis.

The Doha Asian Games soft tennis competition includes both team and individual events. The ball, which is made from rubber, is filled with air and is quite soft, and thus, can be hit extremely hard. This is one of the charming features of this fast-moving, yet precise game.