Sunday 30 June 2013

Tennis Health and Fitness Views

On show at Wimbledon this year is 19-year-old Laura Robson and 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm and their relative states of "healthiness".

 Laura Robson (above) and Kimiko Date-Krumm

 Photos from here and here

 Laura Robson, 19,  still has some chubbiness

Most of us have heard of "puppy fat" but in general body fat composition can be controlled relatively early in life. For example, there are many sports events where young sportspersons at the start of their professional careers have already attained, more or less, their ideal body fat and protein ratios (e.g. football players, track athletes, cyclists, to name a few).

Young tennis players in general do not fall into this category.  They seem to get healthier and less chubbier with time—this apparently after they "discover" the correct training regime that truly gives them their optimal fitness that in turn allows them to produce optimal performances consistently on the tennis court. Andy Murray is an example of someone who belated optimized his fitness levels. Andre Agassi is another and Serena Williams' muscle definition has certainly matured along with her career.

If Laura Robson is to become a Top Ten female tennis player (she's just this minute reached the last 16 of Wimbledon) and fulfill her Grand Slam potential, it is clear her health and fitness levels will need to improve.

Taking a look at the British tennis players who did not progress beyond Wimbledon's first round (e.g. James Ward, Tara Moore, Johanna Konta, Elena Baltacha, Anne Keothavong, Kyle Edmund and Samantha Murray), I would hazard an educated guess that their fitness are not optimal. For instance, Elena Baltacha has always been chubby and has not made much progress in her years as a journeywoman tennis pro. This is a fate that Laura Robson should avoid. 




Related Posts

Wimbledon Wow Factor

Healthy And Fit From My Perspective

Andy Murray Gaining Physical Power, Stamina and Overall Fitness







Saturday 29 June 2013

1220 HKSAR Name of the Day

Maisy Lo, convener of the press freedom committee for the Hong Kong Journalists Association

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare

Thursday 27 June 2013

1219 HKSAR Name of the Day

Serenade Woo Lai-wan, Asia-Pacific project manager, International Federation of Journalists, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation

Tuesday 25 June 2013

1218 HKSAR Name of the Day

Rico Chan, coach of the Hong Kong Arsenal Soccer School (former AO or government Administrative Officer), Hong Kong
 
see 0637, 0941 and 0971 HKSAR Names of the Day

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare; Somewhat common in Hong Kong

Sunday 23 June 2013

1217 HKSAR Name of the Day

Elim Wong, operations manager, Star Ferry, Hong Kong 

Note: Elim is "Mile" spelled backward?

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation

Friday 21 June 2013

1216 HKSAR Name of the Day

Dorian Ho, local celebrity, Hong Kong 
Jim Tsim, Fala Chen, May Law and Dorian Ho

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare; Literature-based; Self-important

Wednesday 19 June 2013

Little Boys Dressed As Girls

"seems he likes little boys also … that is a little boy dressed like a girl, isnt it?"



Ji Yingnan, 25, with Fan Yue, an official with whom she had an affair


The above comment is from an SCMP reader (aplucky1) in response to the news story (reference below) about a middle-aged middle-ranking Chinese Communist Party official and his affair with a 25-year-old TV reporter.

I have come across similar comments which are usually attributed to women—usually western women—who criticize men—usually western men—for choosing Chinese or Asian girlfriends or wives. There are of course variations to this "western perspective" (or "yellow fever") theme … such as corrupt middle-aged men of any race who woo (or "prey" on) younger women who, apparently, are fresh out of college.

Discussion points?

1) Are the body types of some Chinese or Asian women similar to the body type of prepubescent males?

2) Are there hidden homosexual tendencies in men (western or otherwise) who have a preference for Chinese or Asian women who have similar body types to that of prepubescent males?

3) Are western women envious of Chinese or Asian women in terms of body type? And/or are they critical of men who prefer Asian women over western women?

4) Is equality and mutual respect so hard to achieve in a relationship? This was discussed in previous posts Is It A Hard Life? and Understanding Unfaithfulness.

5) Are younger women necessarily "innocent victims" in the fallout?

6) Are older men always to be castigated for commenting positively on younger women? Examples here from a 58-year-old Hong Kong dentist and a 71-year-old British novelist.


Reference

Party accused of covering up official's lavish lifestyle (SCMP; paywall)
Tuesday, 18 June, 2013, 4:26am

Laura Zhou laura.zhou@scmp.com

A young television anchor who exposed a philandering State Archives Administration official, has accused the Communist Party's General Office, where the man previously worked, of trying to cover up the scandal.

Ji Yingnan, a 25-year-old anchorwoman on the China Travel & Economic Channel, said yesterday the State Archives had passed on a message from the General Office asking her to "seek formal channels" to solve the case, instead of "expanding [negative] influence".

Ji said that exposing her affair with Fan Yue, a deputy director-general of the State Archives' policy and legal affairs office, had been her last option. "It forced me to leap out through the window and try the side door."

She posted details of the affair on her verified Sina Weibo microblog on Friday, saying Fan gave her 10,000 yuan (HK$12,500) daily, and bought her an Audi worth 700,000 yuan in late 2009 and a white Porsche worth more than 1.3 million yuan last summer. The posts were soon removed and she has been banned from microblogging - on Sina and Tencent - since Friday.

Ji said she tried "formal channels", for example, reporting the case to the party committee of the State Archives Administration, the secretariat bureau of the party's General Office and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in the past few months, but had been either blocked by security guards or had her reports ignored.

The Friday post sparked questions on how a mid-level official could fund such a lavish lifestyle.

Ji said that when they met in 2009, Fan told her that he managed an information technology firm in Beijing. She later discovered that he was a civil servant, but was told that he worked in a department that dealt with confidential affairs and was not allowed to tell her more.

State Archives Administration spokesman Guo Siping, who is also Fan's supervisor, told Xinhua that Fan had resigned, but "what the female whistle-blower described was not completely true, even though Fan did have problems", Zhongguowangshi, a Xinhua microblog reported yesterday. The post was later deleted and related report removed from the Xinhuanet.com news portal.

Calls to the State Archives went unanswered yesterday.



Some Comments posted on SCMP:

newgalileo Jun 18th 2013
11:25am
Being pretty familiar with those cases in Beijing, not a surprise. Sugar daddies are all around, explaining why pretty young girls drive around in expensive cars. Both are to be blamed. Come on, 10,000 RMB per day? If per month, would seem a bit more reasonable but Chinese men are at the top to spend money like crazy on those girls. Where is this money coming from? Oh I see, this is why the postings are being removed by the censors. The system is rotten to the core. Cover it up quickly. Not much pity for the girl either, a real bloodsucker as there are so many around here. Who knows she is telling the truth? Fortunately not all Chinese girls are like that.

crbfile Jun 18th 2013
9:36am
that is a nightmare female. in common parlance a B-I-Y-A-T-C-H

aplucky1 Jun 18th 2013
8:00am
seems he likes little boys also
that is a little boy dressed like a girl, isnt it?


syracuse37 Jun 18th 2013
7:56am
I usually would rant about the corruption. However recently many of those minor wife or girlfriend try to destroy the life of officers in China. I have to admit I have absolutely no respect for someone who willfully benefited from all this money and then turns around and tries to look like they do it for the right reason. **** if he is guilty of corruption, then she should also be guilty of living on the result of corruption.






1215 HKSAR Name of the Day

Jim Tsim Sui-man, local comedian, Hong Kong



About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Common but sounds odd in combination with surname

Monday 17 June 2013

1214 HKSAR Name of the Day

Ankie Beilke, local model and daughter of former actress Ankie Lau Heung-ping, Hong Kong
Keeping it in the family ... Ankie
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Insertion

Saturday 15 June 2013

1213 HKSAR Name of the Day

Ankie Lau Heung-ping, Hong Kong actress (1970s and 80s) and mother of local model Ankie Beilke, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Insertion

Thursday 13 June 2013

Do Not Think I Won't Kill You Dwarf


Listen carefully to what Legolas says here. Pic courtesy Warner Bros.


On Middle Earth, is Legolas and the rest of the elves being consistent in their use of word contractions? It does not seem so.

As a comparison, in the Star Trek universe Mr Spock and Data are extremely careful to avoid word contractions.




Related Posts

Tsing Tao Beer Spans the Galaxy

0871 HKSAR Name of the Day


Reference

New Trailer of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug




1212 HKSAR Name of the Day

Ambrose Ho Pui-him, vice chairman, Consumer Council, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Wanted: Missing Chinese Man with yellow complexion and short black hair

Hong Kong's finest have asked the public to help find the whereabouts of a 23-year-old mainlander who got separated from his parents.

“He has a long face, yellow complexion and short black hair,” police said in a statement. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, black trousers and black sports shoes.

Well, at least that rules out all the non-Chinese males here, who make up approximately 1% of all men in Hong Kong.


Reference

Public asked for help in finding missing tourist (SCMP; paywall)
Monday, 10 June, 2013 [Updated: 4:57PM]

Clifford Lo clifford.lo@scmp.com

Police are making a public appeal for help in tracing a 23-year-old mainland tourist who went missing in Hong Kong last Friday.

Huang Dongze left  L’hotel in Yeung Uk Road, Tsuen Wan, last Friday at about 4:30pm with his parents but got separated from them, polce said on Monday morning.

Hours later, his family sought police help in finding him.

Huang, who came to Hong Kong on June 4 for a sightseeing trip, is about 1.78 metres tall, has a medium build and weighs 65 kilograms.

“He has a long face, yellow complexion and short black hair,” police said in a statement. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, black trousers and black sports shoes.

Anyone with information as to his whereabouts should contact the regional missing persons unit of New Territories South police at 3661 1171 or any police station.

In the case of another missing person, the body of a Hong Kong man, Ng Fei-chuen, 61, was found at a hillside near Nga Choy Hang Tsuen off Cape D’Aguilar Road in Shek O at about 12.30pm on Monday.

Police said their initial investigation found nothing suspicious.

Ng went missing after he left his home in North Point on Saturday.




1211 HKSAR Name of the Day

Alfie Lam, 48-year-old kidney transplant survivor, Hong Kong 
 
the meaning of Alfie is "elf or magical counsel; ready for battle"


About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare

Sunday 9 June 2013

Saturday 8 June 2013

Hamburger and Coke: A Champion's Diet

"I still can have a hamburger in my hand and a Coke in my hand and eat on the street and nobody would recognise me."
confesses plump female Chinese golfer Feng Shanshan

Fatty golfer Feng Shanshan is a champion


Reference

China trailblazer Feng returns to defend major title (SCMP; paywall)
Thursday, 06 June, 2013, 4:16pm

Reuters



Shanshan Feng, of China. Photo: AP

Feng Shanshan won accolades when she returned home after becoming China’s first winner on the LPGA Tour, and now she returns to Locust Hill to defend her LPGA Championship, the second major of the season.

The 23-year-old Feng, coming off a runner-up finish in last week’s ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey, will be trying to extend a streak of eight consecutive LPGA majors won by Asian players in the tournament beginning on Thursday.

Her LPGA Championship triumph in Pittsford, New York, thrust Feng into the spotlight.

She held a news conference at the airport upon her return to China, another one in Beijing and another in her hometown of Guangzhou and topping her list of “coolest things about being a major champion” came at a special awards ceremony in January.

“I was named best non-Olympic athlete in China,” Feng said ahead of Thursday’s opening round.

“I was sitting with so many of the Olympic players in China and I was the first golfer to be nominated. I think the government is paying more attention to golf.”

Feng had seven other top-10 finishes last year. This year, she has posted four top-10s from eight events and feels a switch to different clubs helped her to the runner-up finish last weekend and boosted her confidence.

“My iron shots were really accurate and my short game was pretty good. So I would say the clubs helped a lot,” the world number seven said.

Competition in the 144-player field will be keen, including a trio of South Korean winners of the last three major titles.

World number one Inbee Park, winner of this season’s opening grand slam, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, reigning US Women’s Open champion Choi Na-yeon, and British Women’s Open winner Jiyai Shin are eager to add more hardware on the testing Locust Hill layout.

“I don’t know whether I’m getting old, [but] the course is tougher,” said 24-year-old Park. “It’s a very tough golf course, very good, challenging. The rough is really up and the greens are really firmer than the years I’ve played before.”

American Stacy Lewis, winner of the 2011 Kraft Nabisco and the last non-Asian to win a major, is confident she can return to the winner’s circle.

“I feel like I’ve had chances, and I’ve been in contention, so it doesn’t weigh on me that much,” said world number two Lewis, who has won six times on tour since winning the Kraft.

“I feel like my game is made for majors and it’s only a matter of time.”

Australian Karrie Webb, who held off Feng to win last week’s LPGA event, showed she was still a threat to add to her major championships haul of seven.

“I guess I don’t look at the age thing,” said Webb. “I know what I’m capable of and I know that’s good enough to win out here.”

Feng showed she could win by charging back from three-shots out to win in her last visit Locust Hill, firing a final-round 67 for a two-stroke victory.

Despite the newfound attention, Feng said she has a way to go to match the popularity of Yani Tseng and Ai Miyazato in their home countries.

“Yani’s like a rock star in Taiwan. It’s like Ai Miyazato in Japan,” said Feng. “Me, in China, well, I still can have a hamburger in my hand and a Coke in my hand and eat on the street and nobody would recognise me.

“But of course, after we play better and better, of course more and more people will recognise us.”



Friday 7 June 2013

1209 HKSAR Name of the Day

Pollina Ip Lai-chun, 36-year-old breast cancer survivor (SCMP Dec 2011), Hong Kong 
 
Melody-in-Mind chorus members (above, from left) May Wong Mei-lin and Pollina Ip Lai-chun with vocal director Olivia Chow Siu-kwan. Pic by Warton Li
 


About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Insertion

Wednesday 5 June 2013

1208 HKSAR Name of the Day

Velentina Ma, project manager, journalism and media studies centre, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 
 
compare with Valentina Chan, principal press information officer, ICAC

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Substitution

Monday 3 June 2013

1207 HKSAR Name of the Day

Kyla Yuen Ng-fung, managing director, 7749 private company (funeral services), Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare