Photo/Illutration Chang FuKang from Malaysia, right, and Rafif Shidqi Fitrah from Indonesia will become professional go players in April. The photo was taken in Tokyo on Dec. 16. (Koji Ode)

Two teenagers from Southeast Asia have been tapped to become professional go players in Japan, as part of efforts to spread the board game around the world.

The game's governing body, the Nihon Ki-in, announced Dec. 16 that 16-year-old Malaysian Chang FuKang and 17-year-old Indonesian Rafif Shidqi Fitrah will be recruited in April.

It is the first time that the countries have produced professional players in Japan of the classic game.

At the recruitment exams held by the Nihon Ki-in's Tokyo headquarters in October and November, both players racked up nine wins and five losses. They ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, out of 15 competitors, satisfying the requirement of a “specially recruited go player with a foreign nationality.”

Chang came to Japan in January, training hard while living in a go hall in Tokyo before making his dream come true.

"I want to be No. 1 in the world," he said at a news conference.

There are about 3,000 go players in Malaysia.

Fitrah was born and raised in Japan, where his father works as an engineer. As Indonesia has only about 1,000 go players, he hopes he can spread the game's popularity there, saying, "I would like to teach many people how to play."

The system to recruit foreign go players is aimed at spreading the game around the world.

It targets all nations and regions, excluding China, South Korea, Taiwan and North Korea.

Three years ago, Antti Tormanen, 30, a 1-dan player from Finland, became a professional go player.