Omura was among the 16 finalists chosen from 276 video entries to showcase his moves in Tokyo on Sunday (Mar 30) in a contest organized by the Pen Spinning Association Japan.

You can watch Omura’s video entries here.

The Chinese men was crowned on Sunday (March 2), their fourth successive title, after defeating South Koreans. The women claimed their eighth successive title a day earlier after beating the Singapore team.

Chinese men and women with their world championship trophies (Image via Xinhuanet)

The former England captain will also attend some private functions to meet his fans as well as endorsing some products for his sponsors.

David Beckham in a press conference in Seoul (Image courtesy of Newsen)

LA Galaxy will also play against Shanghai-Hong Kong United in Shanghai, China on March 5. There are news that they will be playing in Hong Kong on March 9 as well, but the schedule has not been confirmed yet.

Ishikawa on Jan 21, has conquered Antarctica’s 4,897-metre Vinson Massif, the last of the seven peaks he was climbing.

Seems like Japanese old folks are enjoying mountaineering very much. In May 2007, another 71-year-old Japanese Katsusuke Yanagisawa became the oldest person to scale Mt Everest, a record once hold by Ishikawa when he conquered the world’s highest mountain in 2002.

The Seven Summits are Everest (Asia), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe), Denali (N. America), Aconcagua (S. America), Carstensz Pyramid (Oceania) and Vinson Massif (Antarctica).

16-year-old Japanese golf prodigy Ryo Ishikawa has become a professional golfer; he made the announcement last Thursday (Jan 10).

Ishikawa shocked the golfing world in 2007 when he becomes the youngest golfer to win a Japanese male tournament by winning the Munsingwear Open in May. He can now add another record to his bag… as the youngest pro in Japanese golf history.

The 16-year-old has become a sensation in Japan after winning the Musingwear trophy, with large crowds following him around at every tournament he plays. He got a nickname from his fans, hanikami oji (bashful prince) for his soft-spoken manner and cute looks.

Thousands of people had took part in a tug-of-war in Changsha of central China’s Hunan province on Sunday (Jan 7), which was staged in conjunction with the arrival of 2008 Beijing Olympic torchbearers.

Thousands of people in tug-of-war (Image courtesy of Xiaoxiang Morning Post)

2008 of the participants were drafted from Hunan University to symbolise the Beijing Olympic in summer 2008; a few thousands of other participants also took part in the competition. Chinese Olympic champions and local celebrities had attended to event to show their support as well.

A cable-like-rope more than a kilometre in length and 3 tonnes in weight was specially made by a steamship maker for this event.

Tug-of-war was one of the programs in Summer Olympic; it was almost a century ago since it was last held though (1900-1920).

South Korean boxer Choi Yo-sam, who fell into coma after winning the World Boxing Organization (WBO) intercontinental flyweight title on Christmas Day, was declared dead early Thursday (Jan 3) from head injury (brain hemorrhage).

Choi’s final fight (Image courtesy of Chosun)

Choi, 33, won the WBO title on a unanimous decision over Indonesian boxer Heri Amol, but was knocked down by his opponent just before the end of the final round. Choi managed to get back to his feet and became the winner on points before collapsing again.

Choi was declared brain dead on Wednesday (Jan 2), and was pronounced legally dead at 00:01 on Thusday morning after being taken off his life support machine. Choi’s family decided to donate his organs in accordance with his wishes, which benefited six people in need.

Rest in peace Mr Choi Yo-sam.

Chinese basketball star Yi Jianlian made his NBA debut on October 31, playing against the Orlando Magic. The Milwaukee Bucks rookie managed 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks before fouling out. Orlando won the game 102-83.

Yi Jianlian in action against Orlando Magic (Image courtesy of Xinhuanet)

It is not a superb debut, but Yi’s performance was quite ok. The press and Chinese basketball fans are comparing him with another Chinese NBA star, Yao Ming, who failed to score a single point in his first NBA game… so Yi did make a relatively convincing start in NBA.

Despite a poor debut, Yao Ming has become an important player in the league. It is still remain to be seen if Yi Jianlian could match Yao’s performances and cultural impact, but both the US and Chinese media will be watching him closely for the NBA season.

One thing that Yi needs to address seriously is his foul trouble. He was fouled out again in his 2nd match, this time against Charlotte Bobcats on Friday… Milwaukee lost their 2nd game in a role.

Williams is the champion after beating Kirilenko in the final. Besides the prize money, the champ was also presented with a Koryochungja, a vase made of Korean green porcelain.

The tennis stars in Hanbok (Image courtesy of Hansolopen)

Zhang started her journey in early July and took 55 days to complete 3558km of running. Her father accompanied her all the way on a bicycle.

Zhang and her father arriving in Beijing (Image courtesy of Thebeijingnews)

Kazakhs are celebrating a folk festival in a four-day singing and horse racing gala which opened Saturday, August 11, in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Kazakhs playing a traditional sport, which is a combination of tug-of-war, basketball (or soccer) and horce racing (Image courtesy of Crienglish)

Kazakhs (also known as Kazaks, Qazaqs) are people from Middle Asia. Most of them live in Kazakhstan and its neighbouring countries, including Uzbekistan, China and Russia.

There are around 2.2 million Kazakhs in China; not really a small population but still considered as minorities with China’s 1.2 billion people.

Kazakhs are well known for their fierce love of freedom, skillful horse riding and hunting with semi-domesticated eagles.

After winning the Nagoya tournament, Asashoryu told the JSA on July 25 that he would not take part in the summer sumo tour, submitting a doctor’s certificate that said his injuries, including a fractured lower back and a damaged ligament, needed some six weeks to heal.

However, instead of resting… Asashoryu played in a charity soccer game in his homeland, prompting JSA officials to criticize him for exaggerating his injury and pulling out of the summer tour.

The Iraq soccer team

Iraqi captain Younis Mahmoud scored the only goal of the match, and Iraq lift the winner’s trophy for the first time in their country history… moment of joy for the war-torn nation.

Iraq fans celebrate AFC Asian Cup victory in Bagdad

Tokyo 2016 Olympic bid logo (Image coutersy of Tokyo2016)

The Tokyo 2016 logo takes the form of a traditional Japanese knot known as ‘MUSUBI’. It integrates the five Olympic colours into a motif of colourful and decorative knotted strings which have long been utilised in Japan to signify blessings during times of celebration.

The logo was unveiled at Tokyo International Forum by the Governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, who was joined by Tsunekazu Takeda, President of the Japanese Olympic Committee and Dr. Ichiro Kono, Chairman & CEO of the Tokyo 2016 Olympic Games Bid Committee and other bid officials in a ceremony for over 200 guests and media.

Currently there are 6 cities that have officially bid for the event… Tokyo (Japan), Chicago (USA), Dubai (UAE), Madrid (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

The host city will be announced at the 121st Session of the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen (Denmark) on October 2, 2009.

Jump, jump, jump… (Image courtesy of Rednet.cn)

The 3,009 participants, ranged from 10 years old to 68, have broken the previous record set by 2,474 Hong Kongers in January 2005.