Top 10: Asian athletes
I have always wanted to be an athlete since a very young age, but growing up in a traditional Chinese family, school always came first and there was only just enough room to do sports recreationally. It always makes me proud to see how Asian athletes are making a name for themselves in their respective sports. They have the powerful ability to inspire many more kids, including other Asians to start young. Here are my top 10 Asian athletes of all time that I think have been very influential.
10. Yani Tseng
As the youngest player ever, male or female, to win five major championships, she was ranked number 1 in the Women’s World Golf Ranking for 109 consecutive weeks. Tseng has cemented herself as one of the best female golfers in the world.
2. Li Na
The first and as of yet the only female Asian tennis player to win a grand slam, she is considered to be one of Asia’s most successful tennis players in history and currently the richest retired female athlete in the world.
Photo Source: Christopher Johnson @ Flickr.Asia (CC BY-SA 2.0)
3. Sachin Tendulkar
Widely regarded by most cricket fans both in India and internationally as the greatest batsman of all time, he holds nearly 100 records in the sport and is also considered to be a national treasure. As the highest run scorer of all time in international cricket, his nicknames include: God of Cricket and master blaster.
Photo Source:Anil Chudasama @ Flickr.asia (CC BY 2.0)
7. Lee Chong Wei
Lee ended Malaysia’s 12 year Olympic medal drought with 3 silver medals in badminton. Although he could not win a gold medal, he is already considered to be the most successful Malaysian Olympian in history.
6. Park Ji-sung
The captain for his South Korean national team, Park is definitely the most decorated Asian soccer player and still the only Asian player to have won the UEFA Champions League Trophy. He amassed 19 goals in 134 appearances for Manchester United.
5. Ichiro Suzuki
Not just a popular baseball player for an Asian, Suzuki is one of the most popular baseball players overall. A 10 time MLB all star, MVP and rookie of the year, even at age 43 he is still active in the league and still producing numbers for his team. He is well on his way to the Baseball Hall of Fame once he retires.
Photo Source: Johnmaxmena, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
4. Tiger Wods
Being one quarter Thai and one quarter Chinese, I consider Tiger Woods to be Asian which is why he’s on this top 10. Despite his scandal, his professional achievements still make him the greatest golfer of all-time. Being one of only five golfers to achieve a modern day grand slam three times and the only to win four majors in succession, he has successfully brought the game of golf to the masses.
3. Jeremy Lin
While not as impactful as Yao, no one can forget the two weeks he had playing for the New York Knicks that shot him into fame, earning the nickname “Linsanity” and kickstarting his career. Even after the craze he remains a very skilled basketball player, good enough to be on the starting lineup for the Brooklyn Nets. With Yao retired, he is now indisputably the NBA’s new ambassador across the Pacific.
2. Yao Ming
With no background in college basketball at all, he became the first Asian basketball player to be drafted first overall in the NBA. At a time when most experts predicted that he would fail in the league, he exceeded all expectations and was selected as an NBA all star 8 times. He has been a global symbol of basketball since then and had a phenomenal influence on the NBA expansion in China.
1. Manny Pacquiao
Considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time, with 10 world titles and numerous records broken, Pacquiao’s accomplishments in boxing are staggering. Being this good at the sport as an Asian has definitely helped fight the stereotype of the fragile Asian man.
Top 10: .Asia domains
Over the years there have been numerous exciting .Asia domains set up. One of the earliest examples was Johnny Walker’s KeepWalking.Asia as part of an Asia wide TV and online campaign in 2008. Even though the domain is no longer operational, it inspired our continued tracking of live .Asia websites through the KeepClicking.Asia initiative, now integrated with our main site and social media page: http://www.facebook.asia/dot.asia.
Here are my Top 10 picks (at the moment… as it certainly changes all the time) of high traffic .Asia domains that exemplify or showcase how .Asia domains can be used.
Top 10: eSports teams
Claiming the World Championship titles in 2013, 2015, 2016 and now among favourites for 2017, SKT is all too obvious as the choice for top spot. While they suffered from a slump in 2014, SKT’s star player Faker, argued by some to be the most dominant player of all time has stayed with the team throughout his dazzling career. SKT have already forged a lasting legend for themselves; winning this season’s championship would only push it to the next level.
Top 10: Modern history’s Asian political giants
Asia is the largest and most populous continent. Throughout Asian history, there have been several political figures who have been extremely influential in shaping the region. How could I miss this opportunity to list some of the most notable and influential Asian figures in recent history? This is my list of “Asian Political Giants of Modern History”.
Top 10: Cartoons from Asia
No childhood is complete without hours spent watching cartoons (especially in the 80s)! Here, in my opinion, are the top 10 cartoon / anime characters from Asia! If you are looking to experience Anime culture live, check out animefestival.asia.
Top 10: Asian movies
As a movie lover, it’s always hard to pick the top 10. Frankly speaking, if there is no year limitation (2017), I would definitely have a wider selection.
A movie is not just a form of entertainment, it can also inspire people and even influence an individual’s way of thinking. So here is my top 10 without any specific ranking orders:
Top 10: Business trip destinations around Asia
Having been with .Asia for the best part of 10 years now, I have had the honor of traveling around the region, building relationships and increasing the awareness of the domain extension. Here are my top 10 places I have visited in the region.
Top 10: Asian superstitions
Like many other Asians, I grew up in a traditional household and my elders – from my grandmother to my mom (to think of it, maybe it was just the women) are highly superstitious. They told me the craziest things! I didn’t want to believe in them, but I wasn’t going to take any chances so I followed those rules. To this day, even though I still don’t believe in those superstitions, I catch myself passing them onto my own daughter. At the very least, they ARE an excellent way to get her to follow rules.
Top 10: Superfoods
I started falling in love with concept of “food as medicine” since my childhood when I was inspired by “The Huangdi Neijing” (a.k.a The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine 黃帝內經). Later when I started exploring more from the school library, I found that the Greek physician Hippocrates, known as the Father of Early Medicine (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC) had suggested the same concept around the same period of time. He stated “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” This has become my creed of life as eating right is really important! Here are my top 10 choices for super foods.
Top 10: Exotic foods in Asia
While I claim myself as an adventurous foodie, I have to firstly put out a disclaimer that these 10 exotic foods may be only baby level for some while daring for others – especially westerners. This is just a snapshot of my personal top 10 for exotic Asian foods (that I’ve tried). My list will begin with #10 for least adventurous to #1 for most daring dishes. So here we go…
Top 10: Asian musicians
In the face of declining global music sales in recent years, the music industry in Asia, particularly that of China, South Korea and Japan, is a rapidly growing economic sector; home to some of the world’s largest music markets. I have shortlisted my top 10 most influential and outstanding Asian musicians as follows:
Top 10: Kid-friendly family vacation destinations
June is an avid traveler who immerses herself into the local culture wherever she goes. In this list she will take us through her top 10 kid-friendly vacation spots in Asia.