MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Manny Pacquiao has already achieved what most of his countrymen can only dream of: lifting himself out of wrenching poverty, securing a future for his children, and becoming a hero to Filipinos the world over.

Not content with just winning in the ring, Pacquiao also set about making his mark in politics.

But after his stunning loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas, the 34-year-old is facing some of the toughest questions of

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Under the sweltering heat, Butsakom Moonfong gripped her golf club firmly and practiced her swing, before focusing on the ball. Adjusting her position, the 10-year-old hit the ball close to the hole, getting a thumbs-up from her caddie.

Butsakom emerged as champion in her age group in the Kids Golf World Championship in Malaysia held earlier this month, much to the delight of her caddie, who is also her father. She has been playing competitive golf since she was five, and by six years old she had her eyes set on the world stage.

"I want to be a world professional player. I want to make lots of money," the softly spoken Thai girl said at a lunch break earlier in the week, escorted by her doting parents.

Portland soccer fans endured chilly temperatures to support the U.S. Women’s National Team (WNT) when they visited the City of Roses last week. On Tuesday, several hundred fans were treated to a practice session at JELD-WEN Field that was free and open to the public. The next evening, more than 10,000 people watched the team face off against the national team from the Republic of Ireland.

The match was held as part of the U.S. team’s Fan Tribute Tour in celebration of the team winning gold at the London Olympics this past summer. After beating France, Colombia, and Korea DPR in group play of the games, the team defeated

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s sports law must be amended to end political interference in cricket administration to sustain and improve the game in the country, according to a report from a former top administrator.

The report by Haroon Logart, former chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), suggests changing the law to comply with international standards.

When I first began this column six years ago, I found very few Asian Major League Baseball (MLB) players to write about. But these days, Asian players developed in the minor leagues or acquired directly from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) provide a feast of talent for which Asian-American sports fans can be thankful.

The biggest Asian player news this season was Yu Darvish’s long-awaited MLB debut. The 26-year-old righty pitched five tremendous seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters, using the broad pitch repertoire typical of Japanese hurlers along with a dominating fastball to strike out more than a batter per inning.

You can tell a lot about University of Portland (UP) junior and Pilots midfielder Thomas Iwasaki by watching him play soccer. Fraser Morrison, Thomas’s high school coach in Lake Oswego, calls the young man, "a fine advert for what you can achieve if you put your mind to it," adding, "He plays hard, but fair, and demonstrates these fine characteristics off the field as well to comprise a fantastic all-around person." Bill Irwin, his coach at UP describes Thomas as "very hardworking, honest, and talented, both on and off the field. He brings with him the same intensity and outlook to every practice and every game."

Thomas started playing soccer when he was in kindergarten. His determination and effort over the years with local soccer clubs allowed him an opportunity to become a Pilot.

A business major, Thomas is one of UP’s 20 Entrepreneur Scholars, a competitively selected group of undergraduate students from all majors across the campus who create new business ventures and social enterprises, and also implement innovative products and delivery models for these organizations, according to Peter Rachor, director of the school’s Center for Entrepreneurship.

SUZUKA, Japan — Kamui Kobayashi gave the home fans a thrill when he become the first Japanese driver to claim a podium finish at the Japanese Grand Prix in 22 years.

The Sauber driver started from third on the grid and maintained his position to finish the race at the Suzuka circuit behind Red

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Marlon Samuels produced a brilliant all-around performance to guide West Indies to a 36-run victory over Sri Lanka in the World Twenty20 cricket final.

Samuels hit six sixes and three fours in his 78 off 56 balls to lift West Indies to 137-6 after it was reduced to 87-5. Samuels

Asian fortunes have been waning lately in professional sports like basketball and baseball, but they’ve never been stronger in an international event for amateur athletes that draws worldwide attention: not the Olympics, the Little League World Series. We’re enjoying a renaissance of Japanese talent in this supposedly all-American sport, a resurgence that continued in this year’s tournament.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s leading women’s badminton pair was banned for four months by the national association for their involvement in the play-to-lose scandal at the London Olympics.

Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhari were disqualified from the games along with the Chinese world champions and two South

PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea, long accused by rights activists of shunting its disabled residents off to isolated detention camps, is taking part for the first time this year in the Paralympics in London.

The country’s sole competitor is a 16-year-old swimmer whose training only began in April. Yet his participation offers inspiration to others involved in North Korea’s nascent disabled sports programs, said Li Pun Hui, a former table tennis star who has become her country’s leading advocate for disabled athletes.

"Healthy or disabled, if you have the will to succeed, there is no obstacle in your way," Li said.

Earlier this year, Li’s work helped gain North Korea provisional membership in the International Paralympic Committee. But the clearance to participate came too late to qualify for most events.

LONDON — Kaori Icho’s cold, tense stare never broke as she wiped out opponent after helpless opponent.

It was only when Icho sealed her third straight Olympic gold medal that she showed just how relieved she was to have done it again.

Icho won the women’s 63-kilogram freestyle division at the London Games, becoming the first Japanese woman to capture the same event in three consecutive Olympics.

Icho beat Ruixue Jing of China 3-0, 2-0 — her latest victory in a 72-match winning streak.

LONDON — China again swept all four Olympic gold medals in table tennis, just like it did four years ago at home in Beijing.

In fact, men’s coach Liu Guoliang said China has the "homecourt advantage" no matter where it plays.

"In table tennis, wherever it is, we are the hosts," said Liu after China delivered one of its most pressure-packed gold medals

NEW DELHI — Star cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was among those celebrating Sushil Kumar’s wrestling silver medal in London that helped India to its biggest ever Olympic haul of six medals at one games.

The country of 1.2 billion people failed to win a gold medal, but finished with two silver and four bronze. Pistol shooter Vijay Kumar won the other silver while women’s badminton player Saina Nehwal, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, rifle shooter Gagan Narang, and female boxer M.C. Mary Kom won bronze medals.

At the Beijing Olympics four years ago, India had won its first ever individual gold through rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra, as well

TOKYO — Just over a year after celebrating a stunning victory in the World Cup, Japanese fans were disappointed after their team lost 2-1 to the United States in the final of the Olympic women’s soccer tournament.

Bars and restaurants in central Tokyo that showed the game were packed for the 3:45am kickoff, with fans decked out in the national team’s uniforms.

Japan was looking for another emotional win over the U.S., but Carli Lloyd’s two goals meant the country had to settle for silver — its first medal in women’s soccer.

"It was a good game, but I’m very disappointed," said Yasuhiro Koyama, a 29-year-old office worker who stayed up all night to

Almost everything about the scene was familiar. Ichiro Suzuki squatted in the batting circle at Safeco Field, performing an elegant series of stretches that have become as familiar and ritualistic to Mariners fans as they are to him. The problem was his uniform, which was that of the New York Yankees. Despite the sight and even though the trade that carried him to the rival Yankees had only been announced hours earlier, Mariners fans gave their Japanese batting champion a standing ovation.

Ichiro, graceful as ever, bowed deeply to the stands, an honorable farewell to the team that had been his home for the nearly 12 years and a bittersweet end to the Ichiro era in Seattle.

It’s difficult to understate the impact of Ichiro on the Mariners, Major League Baseball (MLB), and the Japanese major league, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Before his 2001 debut, no position player had ever made the transpacific leap from NPB to MLB. Though pitchers, most notably Hideo Nomo, had been in the league since 1965, few believed NPB position

LONDON — Guo Wenjun hadn’t won anything, or even reached a final, for two years until she successfully defended her Olympic 10-meter air pistol title at the London Games.

The surprise gold medal, though, caps the happiest time in her life, she said.

Jeremy Lin, who took the National Basketball Association (NBA) by storm with the New York Knicks last season, was recognized as the "Breakthrough Athlete of the Year" at the 2012 ESPY Awards last week in Los Angeles.

Lin, who went undrafted out of Harvard, became a sensation with a remarkable stretch in February where he scored at least 20 points in nine of 10 games. He averaged 14.6 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.1 rebounds in 35 games with 25 starts before his season was cut short because of torn knee cartilage.

CARSON, Calif. — Nonito Donaire added the International Boxing Federation 122-pound title to his World Boxing Organization belt this month with a unanimous decision over South Africa’s Jeffrey Mathebula, earning his 28th consecutive victory in a unification bout.

Former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik also earned a comfortable unanimous decision over Will Rosinsky at the Home Depot Center south of Los Angeles.

Donaire (29-1, 18 KOs), the four-division champion born in the Philippines and raised in California’s Bay Area, landed bigger shots throughout the bout. He knocked down Mathebula with a vicious left hook in the fourth round, but Mathebula used his

Filipino boxer Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) first Asian-American head coach, Erik Spoelstra, both know about the expectations in sports, which can dilute a victory or magnify the sting of a loss.

Blessed with one of the best lineups in basketball history, Spoelstra earns criticism even in victory, while Pacquiao must always box like the best pound-for-pound fighter he is reputed to be, lest he lose a fight in the eyes of the judges. Both men

TOKYO — When Kohei Uchimura imagines himself collecting a gold medal at the London Olympics, he thinks about collecting one for the team.

An overwhelming favorite to win the all-around gold, the most prestigious event in gymnastics, Uchimura is heading to the

Ariel Hsing was eight years old when she wrote down her Olympic dream on a piece of paper. She rolled it up, wrapped it with a string, and tucked it into a small box.

"I said something along the lines of ‘I wish to become an Olympian one day,’" the 16-year-old Californian recalled. "Then for

JAIPUR, India (AP) — Unheralded off-spinner Ajit Chandila recorded the first hat trick of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket season as the Rajasthan Royals defeated the Pune Warriors by 45 runs earlier this month.

Half centuries by Ajinkya Rahane (61) and Shane Watson (58) propelled the Royals to 170-4 before Chandila’s hat trick polished off the Warriors’ top order in the space of his first seven deliveries, limiting the opposition to 125-9.

Bowling with the new ball, Chandila took the wickets of Jesse Ryder (1), captain Sourav Ganguly (1), and Robin Uthappa (0) to finish with figures of 4-13.

"I was waiting for a chance for a long time," Chandila said. "The pressure was on me ... this is just the start, there is still a way to go to complete my dream."

TOKYO — Akiko Suzuki finished second in the free skate and first overall in the women’s program as host Japan won the International Skating Union’s World Team Trophy.

Ashley Wagner of the United States won the free skate with 122.29 points but Japan held a solid eight-point lead after Daisuke Takahashi won the men’s free skate to finish the competition with 55 points, two ahead of the Americans. Canada was third with 42 points.

Suzuki, who was also second in the short program, had 120.28 points in the free skate and finished first overall with 187.79 points. Her only major mistake came when she under-rotated a double loop in a combination jump.

Since Vijay Singh of Fiji became the first Asian golfer to win the Masters in 2000, more Asian golfers than ever have entered the tournament, thanks to an eastern surge in golf talent. But in that time, only four other Asians and one Asian American have even reached the tournament’s top ten. This year, eight Asian or Asian-American golfers entered the Masters, but only one came close to cracking the hallowed tournament’s top ten.

South Koreans dominated this year’s Asian entrants, including faces both familiar and new. The well-known K.J. Choi and Yong-eun Yang qualified on the basis of past championships and current PGA play, while Kyung-tae Kim and Sang-moon Bae received invitations based on their World Golf Rankings.

Jeremy Lin will miss the rest of the regular season because of knee surgery that could leave the Knicks without their star point guard in the playoffs — if they make it that far.

Lin had an MRI exam that revealed a small, chronic meniscus tear. He elected to have surgery April 1 in New York.

With the regular season ending April 26, the biggest story in basketball this season is done unless the Knicks make a deep

KOH-E-BABA MOUNTAINS, Afghanistan — A gaggle of villagers deep in the mountains of central Afghanistan stared in wonder as a professional snowboarder from New Zealand launched himself over half a dozen young children, two of them perched atop donkeys.

It was one of the oddest interactions between foreigners and Afghans in the decade since U.S.-led forces invaded the country, and the result of a surprising tourism push in a country at war.

International aid workers and enterprising locals are trying to attract snowboarders and skiers to the untouched slopes of the Koh-e-Baba mountains to improve the fortunes of Bamiyan province — the site of towering Buddha statues destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, and one of Afghanistan’s poorest provinces.

NEW YORK — The judges will be watching — were the competitor’s knees locked? Were the wrists straight? Did the forehead and the knee connect? If not, points are going to be lost.

Seeking the perfect pose was the order of the day at the National Yoga Asana Championship, held March 2 through 4 by an organization that wants to see yoga asana, or posture, competition become an Olympic sport.

Wait, competitive yoga? Isn’t that counterintuitive to something that’s usually presented as a spiritual, meditative discipline? Not according to Rajashree Choudhury, who founded USA Yoga, which held the competition.

First of all, she says, the focus is on yoga postures. "I’m not trying to measure anybody’s ‘eight states,"’ she said, referring to the meditative and spiritual aspect of yoga practice. "The posture can be competitive."

IZUNOKUNI, Japan — One year after their lives were torn apart by Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, players from Ishinomaki Technical High School are preparing to compete on one of the biggest stages in Japanese baseball.

When the magnitude-9.0 earthquake hit on March 11, 2011, manager Yoshitsugu Matsumoto was leading his team in a

In 2007, the National Basketball Association (NBA) seemed poised for a Chinese revolution. Yao Ming looked like the NBA’s big man of the future, and Yao’s countryman, seven-foot forward Yi Jianlian, was a first-round pick in that year’s draft. That revolution never happened, however, and 2012 marked the first time in a decade that an NBA season began without an Asian player on any team’s roster — but two players are turning the league’s gaze eastward once more.

After 2007, both Yao and Yi faded from view. Yao finished the 2007-2008 season early with a stress fracture to his left foot, an injury that became career-ending. He played one more partial season the year following, five games in 2010, and then retired in 2011 due to chronic foot problems. Yi Jianlian bounced from Milwaukee to New Jersey and Washington, never realizing his potential, and the Wizards cut him at the end of last season.

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley, Jr. both realize almost every boxing fan wishes Floyd Mayweather, Jr. had been standing next to Pacquiao at the Beverly Hills Hotel late last month.

But when Pacquiao and Mayweather failed to make a deal for the fight everybody wants to see, Pacquiao moved down the list of contenders to make a fight he hopes his fans will enjoy.

CHONBURI, Thailand (AP) — Yani Tseng’s recent resolve to relax under pressure was tested last month on the final hole in the LPGA Thailand.

The Taiwanese star needed to get up and down for birdie from about 100 yards to avoid a probable playoff after Ai Miyazato hit her approach close.

TOKYO (AP) — Natalie Nakase knows there’s more to her job than winning games. The American is the first female coach in Japan’s professional men’s basketball league.

Nakase was hired by the Saitama Broncos last November after the previous American coach, Dean Murray, was fired for a violation of his contract.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Besides going after a medal in the boxing ring at the London Olympics, Sadaf Rahimi will be taking a few punches in the fight for equal rights for Afghan women.

There are female Afghan success stories, yet most women in Afghanistan remain second-class citizens, many cloaked from

NEW YORK — Jeremy Lin came with an intriguing story even before he escaped the New York Knicks’ bench.

First American-born National Basketball Association (NBA) player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.

Harvard graduate.

Nomad who crashed on a teammate’s couch when his brother’s place wasn’t available.

In just over two weeks, Lin’s has shown he’s so much more.

Turns out, he’s a terrific basketball player.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The first Taiwanese American signed by a National Basketball Association (NBA) team hopes to overcome the negative stereotype of playing college basketball at Harvard and plans on eventually becoming a minister in an inner-city neighborhood.

SAPPORO, Japan (AP) — Yu Darvish’s desire to become the world’s best pitcher prompted his decision to leave Japan and sign with the Texas Rangers.

"I want to become the kind of pitcher that will make people say ‘Darvish is the No. 1 pitcher in the world,"’ Darvish said at a recent news conference.

The 25-year-old right-hander agreed last month to a six-year contract with the Rangers guaranteeing him $56 million.

Darvish had a 93-38 record with a 1.99 ERA in 167 games in the past seven seasons in Japan, where he was a two-time

TOKYO — Even with a significant cut in salary, Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki is pleased to be a Milwaukee Brewer.

"I’m just happy to get the opportunity to play in the major leagues," Aoki said at a recent news conference. "It’s something that has been a dream of mine for quite some time."

The Brewers last month signed Aoki to a two-year deal with a club option for 2014. The deal is reported to be worth $2.25 million plus incentives. Aoki made $4.2 million last season with the Yakult Swallows in Japan.

The 30-year-old outfielder hit over .300 in six of his seven full seasons and was a three-time batting champion in Japan’s Central League. He was the league’s 2005 rookie of the year and is a six-time golden glove award winner.

Despite some high-profile disappointments in the Japanese baseball import market, Major League Baseball (MLB) teams continue to look for Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) players to bring across the Pacific. This year’s group includes the most-anticipated import since Daisuke Matsuzaka: Yu Darvish, who could singlehandedly shatter the perception that Japanese pitchers cannot excel in MLB.

In 2006, Matsuzaka’s final season in Japan, a 19-year-old Darvish pitched his first full season for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham

DOHA, Qatar — Three weeks before the Arab Games in Doha, Qatari sports officials called Nada Mohammed Wafa to tell her she would be competing in the Middle East’s biggest sporting event.

Surprised — and a bit scared — the 17-year-old swimmer replied: "Oh wow! Sure!"

Wafa, who had only competed in school-level events until then, trained hard to make up for the short time she had before making history by becoming the first woman on Qatar’s national swim team.

"It’s a good feeling, but it’s also very lonely," Wafa said. "It’s just me, myself, and I."

TOKYO (AP) – Never, ever count China out.

Looking vulnerable after an ordinary performance in qualifying, the Chinese men came roaring back to win their fifth straight title at the world gymnastics championships.

TOKYO — The United States won the women’s title at the world gymnastics championships in a commanding performance ahead of next year’s London Olympics.

The Americans scored 179.411 points, finishing four points ahead of Russia, last year’s champion. It is the first title for the U.S. since 2007. China won the bronze medal with 172.820 points.

A lackluster performance by China in the qualifying round was enough to give it an early lead, but wasn’t enough to retain the top spot. The Chinese scored well despite major errors on the uneven bars, which is normally their best event.

China has lacked spark since winning the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, finishing third at last year’s world championships. But even so, the recent showing, particularly the meltdown on the uneven bars, was stunning.

Portland soccer fans were treated to international-level soccer last month at Portland’s JELD-WEN Field. The match was the second of a two-game series featuring the women’s national teams of the U.S. and Canada.

The games were scheduled as a "Celebration Series" following the U.S. team’s participation in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in which Team Japan won the cup in dramatic fashion over the U.S. in a 120-minute match that was eventually decided with penalty kicks.

Prior to this year’s Women’s World Cup, Team Japan’s main distinction was being the only Asian team to qualify for all six tournaments. In all those attempts, the team had emerged from its group just once, in 1995, only to lose 4-0 to the United States in the quarterfinals. But in this year’s championship game, buoyed by the hopes of their disaster-torn nation, Japan staged two late comebacks against a resilient U.S. squad to become the first Asian soccer team to win a World Cup.

Team Japan’s strengths have sometimes been perceived as weaknesses, leading to diminished expectations. For starters,

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Badminton’s governing body is defending a new rule that orders female players to wear skirts.

The new on-court clothing rule has been misinterpreted, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said in a statement.

"It has never been the intention of the BWF to portray women as sexual objects, and nor is that what we are doing," deputy

This year’s Masters golf tournament, won by unknown South African Charl Schwartzel, featured plenty of new faces, including first-time appearances by eight different Asian and Asian-American golfers. While none of the eastern contingent cracked the top five, three finished in the top 20 and several others continue to make inroads into the PGA.

Last year’s Masters featured finishes in the top 10 from Asian American Anthony Kim and South Koreans Y.E. Yang and K.J.

Don’t look now, but there’s a major change of thinking in Asian-American baseball. Recent disappointments among eastern imports have led teams to bring players over at a younger age, creating an influx of Asian players who should soon arrive in the majors. They will add to a group of rising Asian Americans already establishing themselves in the major leagues, including two faces from the Pacific Northwest.

The last decade represented the heyday of importing Japanese players to our major leagues. After Ichiro Suzuki’s groundbreaking 2001 debut, American teams began paying top dollar for Japanese players such as Kazuo Matsui, Kenji

Team Japan became the first four-time winner of the AFC Asian Cup with an exciting extra-time victory over Australia last month. Timely, dramatic goals framed the Samurai Blue’s rise to the top of Asian soccer, which follows the team’s historic finish in the 2010 World Cup.

The Asian Cup tournament nearly opened with a Japanese letdown against Jordan. Shortly before the end of a scoreless first half, a Jordanian striker’s shot deflected off Maya Yoshida ’s foot, flipping the ball past goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima into Japan’s net. But Yoshida redeemed himself when the team still trailed in stoppage time. Midfielder Makoto Hasebe sent a beautiful ball across the goal area and Yoshida leapt high and headed in the game-tying shot.

BEIJING — Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Ed Wang sees a future for American football in his parents’ homeland of China.

"I see so much potential," Wang said during a clinic for university students playing in a 32-school flag football league. "Just these kids ... they were just picking it up so fast. Just how smart they were and how they just soaked everything up. It was just so incredible."