Despite her straight-sets defeat by world No. 1 Sun Yingsha, 61-year-old table tennis veteran Ni Xia Lian has proven to be a beacon of resilience and inspiration for many. Amid the roaring applause at the South Paris Arena, 61-year-old paddler Ni Xia Lian waved to the crowd with tears of emotion glistening in her eyes, as if she had clinched an Olympic gold medal. The Luxembourg veteran, however, had just been gracefully defeated in the women’s singles round of 32…

“Not easy at all!” Teenage fencer Jiao Enqi made her Olympic debut in Paris as one of the standout performers in the women’s foil team. Had Jiao Enqi not pursued fencing, she would have been enjoying her summer vacation following the Gaokao, China’s national college entrance exam. Instead, the 18-year-old participated as a reserve for China in the women’s foil team event at the Paris Olympics, where her team finished seventh on Thursday.  Jiao came up in the classification match…

China’s swimmer Pan Zhanle made history at the Paris Olympics by winning the gold medal in the men’s 100m freestyle and setting a new world record, marking China’s first Olympic gold in this event. Breaking through the waves reveals true gold. At the moment Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle touched the wall and broke the record, all doubts, grievances, and frustrations vanished.  “Awesome! It feels incredible!” exclaimed Pan after roaring to China’s first swimming gold in Paris with a world record…

“Because of oil, the whole world has its eyes on Iraq,” Hussein sighed. “My whole life has a close connection with oil, and so has the fate of my country.” Hussein Ali Saeed, an 81-year-old resident, has spent his entire life in Kirkuk, a city in northern Iraq renowned for its abundant oil reserves. As this retired Iraqi oil worker sees it, his hometown is dotted with flames raging above the oil fields, with silver oil pipelines stretching from afar…

Breaking, also known as breakdancing, has made an extraordinary journey from street corners to the prestigious stage of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. For the first time, breaking will be included as an Olympic sport, a milestone moment for dance culture worldwide. Behind China’s impressive rise in the breaking arena stands the legendary French breakdancer, Mounir Biba. A 13-time breaking world champion, Biba now serves as the head coach of China’s breaking team. His journey to legend status began with…

Cycling has many benefits, but for Amir Ansari, the first rider off the ramp in the men’s time trial race at the Paris Olympic Games, it is more than just a sport. The 24-year-old Afghan competes in the colors of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, highlighting how cycling gave him hope during his darkest moments while striving to build a new life. “My ambition is to represent 120 million refugees around the world and think about those who have lost…

lmost every Olympiad sees new sports introduced and some other events dropped amid discussion, anger and controversy. Recent Games have seen BMX biking and skateboarding introduced, with questions asked over whether they really qualify as sports. The introduction of breakdancing also caused raised eyebrows: does an event that has its roots in music and street culture have a place in the Olympics and even if there is no doubt the fitness and agility of the competitors, many ask: Is it…

Rawdoth Alazi Soumaila, a young actress and model from Benin, has recently been cast in a leading role on the Chinese small screen. Formed Police Unit, a recent film by Hong Kong director Lee Tat-Chiu, showcases her artistic talent.   Adopting the Chinese name of Mulan, Soumaila wants to stand out and embody a heroic figure, following in the footsteps of the legendary Chinese warrior admired for her bravery and humility for over 1,500 years. By exploring the world of the seventh…

Dawit Muluneh, 50, found his calling for painting and sculpture at an early age. Born and raised in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, he abandoned the playground and became obsessed with watching his uncle paint. In time, Muluneh developed a remarkable skill of painting figures. In fifth grade, he recalled how his ability to paint was so good that he taught painting classes to other art students, including those who were his seniors.   Graduating in 1995 from the Addis Ababa University’s…

In the post-war USSR there was an ideologeme in use: ‘Stalin’s Ten Strikes’ standing for 10 major operations carried out by the Red Army against Wehrmacht (unified armed forces of the Nazi Germany) in 1944, which altogether led to the collapse of the Third Reich. ‘Stalin’s fifth strike’ was the offensive against the Nazis in June-August 1944 in Soviet Belarus, one of the largest operations in the world’s military history. The operation was codenamed ‘Bagration’ after Pyotr Bagration – a…