SPORTS
March 6, 2017
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 7
Bangladesh rolls out welcome
for unusual sport on skates
By Julhas Alam
The Associated Press
HAKA, Bangladesh — If
basketball and soccer had a
baby and put it on skates, it
might look like roll ball, a little-
known sport whose top performers
worldwide recently vied for the
championship in Bangladesh.
Played on a basketball court, with
a small soccer-type goal in lieu of a
basket, roll ball requires players on
roller skates to dribble and pass a
basketball-sized ball as they try to
score.
Some 750 competitors from 40
countries, including host Bangla-
desh, participated in the meet at
three venues in Dhaka, the capital.
Most were from Asia or Africa, but
Europe, South America, and the
South Pacific island nation of Fiji
were
also
represented.
All
participating nations sent men’s
teams and 27 sent women.
Uganda had initially been expected
to host the fourth Roll Ball World
Cup, but Bangladesh stepped in after
the African nation declined it, said
Ahmed Asiful Hasan, general
secretary of the Bangladesh Roller
Skating Federation.
“This is a little known game in the
D
ATHLETE, OWNER, PRESIDENT. Retired Houston Rockets
center Yao Ming speaks during his jersey number retirement ceremony
at halftime of a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the
Rockets and the Chicago Bulls in Houston, on February 3, 2017. The Chi-
nese Basketball Association has voted unanimously to appoint NBA Hall
of Famer Yao as its new president. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
Chinese Basketball Association
elects Yao Ming as president
BEIJING (AP) — Yao Ming has moved into manage-
ment in a bid to hasten China’s basketball development.
The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) voted
unanimously to appoint the former Houston Rockets star
as its president, in a step toward reform for an
organization which has in past been led by government
bureaucrats.
The CBA’s social-media account quoted the Hall of
Famer as saying he hoped to make improvements to the
domestic league’s draft system and push more Chinese
players into the international arena.
In comments after the vote, Yao said he would introduce
scientific training methods to Chinese clubs, improve the
tactical education of players, and forge exchanges with
leagues in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere.
“Our next move will be to borrow from international
advanced experience, to thoroughly study China’s actual
conditions and carve ourselves a path of innovation,” Yao
said. Reforms would cover all aspects of the game in
China, from the national team to youth programs, he said.
Yao, 36, was one of the first Chinese athletes to become
an international household name when the Houston
Rockets drafted him with the first pick in 2002. The 7’6”
center played for eight seasons in the National Basketball
Association (NBA) before retiring in 2011, citing chronic
injuries.
A two-time Olympian, the Shanghai-born Yao was
elected to the Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2009, he purchased
the Shanghai Sharks, his former CBA team.
Over the past decade, NBA stars such as Stephon
Marbury, Tracy McGrady, J.R. Smith, and Gilbert Arenas
have spent one or more seasons playing in the CBA as the
league grew in prominence. But Chinese sports fans say
the league could be made stronger still and their country’s
basketball talent pipeline remains underwhelming
despite the sport’s grassroots popularity.
Yang Ming, a Chinese sports commentator, praised the
appointment of Yao over a government official, saying
that Yao had broad experience as a player in the NBA and
a CBA club owner.
“For many years we haven’t seen any admirable or
acceptable reform measures introduced by the CBA,”
Yang said. “Yao Ming is not only a brilliant player, but
intelligent with his independent ideas.”
Summer Run
LITTLE-KNOWN SPORT. Aija Apsipe, left, of Latvia follows the ball during a Roll Ball World
Cup quarterfinal match against India at Shaheed Sohrawardi Indoor Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
If basketball and soccer had a baby and put it on skates, it might look like roll ball, a little-known
sport whose top performers worldwide recently vied for the championship in Bangladesh. Top hon-
ors, both for men and women, went to India, where the sport was invented. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)
Death, diplomatic spat could cost North Korea a rare friend
Continued from page 4
But it can be hard to
parse the level of vitriol in
North
Korea’s
official
statements, which often
include tsunamis of angry
accusations and casual
threats
of
nuclear
annihilation.
“The North Koreans
have
a
long-standing
tradition of diplomatic
bluster,” said Er-win Tan, a
scholar at the University of
Malaya who has studied
North Korea. “They have a
very deeply embedded
siege mentality, so I
wouldn’t read too much
into what North Korea is
saying.” And if the two
countries were not best
friends “prior to this
episode, the ties were
relatively good, driven
mostly by economic and
trade considerations.”
Many observers note
that North Korea has little
space — diplomatically or
economically — to drive
away the few friends it has.
While trade between North
Korea
and
Malaysia
totalled just $5.1 million in
Retirement Apartments
2015, that’s a serious
number in a country that
exported just $3.1 billion in
goods
in
2014,
and
imported just $3.9 billion.
Lee, the South Korean
analyst,
said
North
Korea-Malaysia ties have
clearly been dealt a blow,
though
he
doubted
Malaysia would completely
sever ties with Pyongyang.
The diplomatic troubles
could also pull in Vietnam
and Indonesia, since the
two female attackers were
reportedly
from
those
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countries, and at least one
has said she was tricked
into joining in the attack
after being told it was a
prank for a comedy TV
show.
Lee
expects
many
nations in Southeast Asia
to re-examine their ties
with North Korea, and
probably also increase
monitoring
of
North
Korean diplomats posted in
their countries.
Sullivan reported from New Delhi.
Associated Press writer Hyung-jin
Kim contributed from Seoul.
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level: Medium
Polo’s “Talking Story”
column will return soon.
Keep your blood sugar close
to normal by choosing healthy
foods and getting regular
exercise. Take your prescribed
medications and test your
blood sugar on a regular basis.
9
5
1
n Polo
Diabetes is a growing
problem for Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders. But you
can manage your diabetes
and stay healthy – now and in
the future – by controlling
your blood sugar levels.
1
6 8
9
4
TALKING STORY IN
ASIAN AMERICA
Did you know that diabetes
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6 9
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Difficulty
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championships,
in
each
case
defeating teams from Iran.
Bangladesh’s men reached the
semifinals, and team captain
Mohammad Asif Iqbal said his
country’s hosting of the tournament
will help the sport grow.
“Roll ball is now a known game in
Bangladesh and it has good prospect
in the future,” he said.
country. Hosting such a big
tournament gives us an opportunity
to make it known,” he said. “The
amount of support we got from the
government’s top level and the public
is amazing.”
Roll ball originated in neighboring
India, as the results might suggest. In
the finals, both the Indian men and
women
won
their
respective
Manage your diabetes.
You’ll feel better and have
more energy. Best of all, you
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#53692
# 23
Instructions: Fill in the grid so that the digits 1
through 9 appear one time each in every row, col-
umn, and 3x3 box.
Solution to
last issue’s
puzzle
Puzzle #49582 (Easy)
All solutions available at
<www.sudoku.com>.
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Call 1-800-860-8747
to learn more. Or visit
www.ndep.nih.gov.