M.A.R.A.

Li Na Wins 2011 French Open!

Photo: Huffpost

Saturday, June 4, 2011 - Paris

29 year-old Li Na becomes the first Asian-born Chinese, man or woman, to win a Grand Slam singles title. Beating defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy, 6-4, 7-6 (0) in yesterday’s match, Li is now projected to rise from the 6th to the 4th seed in women’s tennis. The Wuhan, China native said this was a “dream come true”. More on Li Na and her victory.

Other Keywords: female asian tennis player, female trailblazers, asian female trailblazers, famous asian athletes, french open champions, female french open champions, asian grand slam champions, first female, first asian, first asian born

A Mets Starter in Hisanori Takahashi after keeping the Yankees at Bay for 6 innings

Scattering five hits, allowing no runs in 6 innings, and lasting 101 pitches in last night’s game against the NY Yankees in Queens’ Citifield, Hisanori Takahashi earns himself a starter spot in the Met’s’ pitching rotation.

Born 4/2/75 in Tokyo, Japan, the 5’10 left hander reveals: “It’s kind of my goal to be here as a starting pitcher and stick with the major leagues…So I’m happy about it.”

Yankees v. Mets series, May 21-23, 2010, Citifield, Queens NY
Game 1: Friday, Yanks win 2-1
Game 2: Saturday, 7pm, Fox - I’m going!
Game 3: Sunday, 8pm, ESPN

(L) Takahashi gets a shake and a rotation spot from pitching coach Dan Warthen after a solid 6 innings against the Yankees Friday night [via: Simmons/News; Al Bello/Getty Images]

Sources: nj.com, nydailynews, mlb
Other Keywords: famous asian athletes, famous asians, famous asian, asian pitchers, asian baseball players, japanese pitchers, japanese baseball players, yankees mets subway series, citi field, citifield, queens, new york

Shane Victorino

is a right-handed switch hitter and center fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies. He bats 8th in the line-up in

Tonight’s GAME 2 of the WORLD SERIES Yankees v. Phillies at Yankee Stadium.

Watch it on Fox at 7:30pm/ET.

A track champion with a phenomenal right-arm, Victorino gains respect for his incredible speed and mad throwing skillz. Even more impressive are his accomplishments despite his relatively small stature at 5’9”. More on his stats here and here.

Victorino was born November 30, 1980 in Wailuku, Hawaii and is classified as “Pacific Islander” on his myspace.

While Wiki tags Victorino under Portuguese- and Japanese- American, and other sites claim he is also of Filipino descent, there are no primary sources confirming this information. Can anyone point me to anything that can confirm?

In the meantime check out a great piece on Victorino here.

Keywords: Famous Asians, Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Phillies, Yankees, World Series 2009, October 29
Thanks to Joe P for the ref!
Photos via: 1, 2, 3

Richard Park

ROCKS the right wing position (#10) and as alternate captain with the New York Islanders hockey team. The Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 at home last night and play the Canadiens in Montreal tonight at 7pm!!!

I caught a Saturday October 10th game against the Boston Bruins, who have beaten the Islanders in the last 6 games they’ve played against each other. So watching the Islanders play a fantastic defense and dominate the offense to score 3 goals in the 2nd period was pretty exciting. The Bruins scored 3 goals in the 3rd period to tie, however, and ultimately won during a shoot out.

Watching the underdog fight and play like the Islanders did in this game is enough to keep my attention for the rest of the season to see if and how they’ll progress.

It’s also worth noting that Park has gained the respect of typically hard-won, seasoned hockey fans not only through his work ethic, heart and loyalty to his team, but also for his ability to “kill penalties” (preventing the other team from scoring during a power play) and to score shorthanded goals (scoring when the other team has a 1 man advantage).

Hold up…a man who can still bring it even when someone else has the advantage? Ummm…it’s gettin hot in hurrrrrr…

Born 5/27/76 in Seoul, South Korea, Park and his family moved to Los Angeles, CA when he was 3 years old and then to Ontario, Canada 10 years later. He began his NHL career when he was drafted by the Pittsburg Penguins in 2004. He moved around a bunch until he signed with the Islanders in 2006. Park is 1 of only 2 Koreans to ever play in the NHL (the other is Jim Paek).

So…he’s been in more than a few throwdowns, huh?

See Tags below for related posts
Keywords: Famous asian hockey players, asians in hockey, richard park, asian canadian atheletes, asian athletes
Thanks to Joe P for the hockey consult
[Photos via]

Chan Ho Park

ALCS: NY Yankees v. Anaheim Angels - Yanks lead series 2-1
NLCS: LA Dodgers v. Philadelphia Phillies - Phillies lead 3-1

Can there be more build up in this year’s fight for the World Series? Park has been the relief pitcher for the Phillies since January of this year. He’s pitching against the Dodgers, which is a team with whom he played for a total of 9 years from 1994-2001 and 2008.

The Dodgers are fighting for a shot at the world series under Joe Torre, who managed and led the Yankees to the post-season for all 10 years Torre was with the Yankees. The Yankees are vying for a shot at the World Series as well.

I’m not really following the NLCS series, because I’m focusing on the ALCS Yankees series, but I have read that Park was phenomenal in the 1st game of the NLCS. He entered the game in the 7th inning, no outs, and a tying run on 2nd. He pitched 3 outs to retire 3 power hitters on the opposing team and positioned the Phillies for a decent shot against the Dodgers. ROCK ON!

Park was born June 30, 1973, and is the first Korean-born major league baseball player. In his prime, Park was a “power pitcher with a dominating fastball in the mid-to-high-90-mph range, a hard slider, an 11-to-5 curveball, and a changeup”. (Wiki)

In reference to Park’s two-seam fastball (Yeah, don’t ask me exactly what that is…I’m guessing it’s a pretty sick pitch), play-by-play baseball announcer, Matt Vasgersian, once commented: “You can only see a two-seamer like that in Playstation 2.” Awe shit.

The Phillies lead the NLCS 3-1, next game is on Wednesday, October 21, 8pm on TBS.

Keywords: Asian athletes, famous asians, korean athletes, Phillies, NLCS
Photo via

Hideki Matsui

Live today!!! on FOX at 4pm
YANKEES v. Angels at Anaheim
GAME 3: American League Championship

Yanks lead over the Angels 2-0 in a ‘best of 7’ series. ALCS and National League Championship Series (NLCS) winners will compete in the WORLD SERIES, which starts October 28th.

(The Philadelphia Phillies lead the NLCS 2-1 against the LA Dodgers, now managed by former Yankee manager, Joe Torre. GO Yanks v. Dodgers world series!!! A former Yankees coaching the opposing team? TOO AWESOME…)

An instrumental player in the Yankee organization, Matsui is a top hitter and bats 7th in the line-up this season. Matsui is currently a designated hitter and is on hold from his left-field post to allow his last-season knee injury to heal. His stats can be found here.

Interesting Wiki tidbit: Playing baseball as a kid, Matsui’s older brother forced him to bat left-handed because he was too good (better than his older brother) as a righty. He wasn’t allowed to play with his older brother and his friends otherwise. Matsui’s been ROCKIN’ power hits as a lefty batter since. (He throws right-handed though)

Matsui was born June 12, 1974 in Neagari Ishikawa, Japan, signed with the Yankees in 2003, and married in a private ceremony in 2008. More on how he was discovered, how he obtained his nickname and other interesting tidbits on Wiki.

GAME ON!

Related posts: Asian athletes
Keywords: Famous Asian athletes, Yankees, ACLS Game 3, Hideki Matsui, Yankees vs. Angels
[photos: 1, 2, 3, 4]
Thanks Tony B for help on this posting!

Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton

Per the Inquirer.net:

“SAN JOSE, California – Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton made history Saturday night [September 12, 2009] here by becoming the first Filipino-American female boxer to win the vacant International Boxing Association super bantamweight title in just her fifth professional fight after defeating the seasoned Kelsey “The Road Warrior” Jeffries at the Tank.”

More on the fight and Ana

Born on July 5, 1980 in San Francisco, California, Luciana B. Julaton now ranks 8/76 in the World and 2/11 in the United States active super bantamweight ratings. She resides in Daly City, California.[via]

PEOPLE - This beauty is a champion…in boxing…after only her fifth professional fight…Fox. Force. Five. [PF]

famousfilipinos:

Li Na

Tuesday, September 8th, US Open - Li Na, Asia and China’s No. 1 (as of 2009), No. 19 in the world and at Wimbledon, and No. 18 seed at the US Open, was defeated 6-2, 6-4 by former No. 1 Kim Clijsters in the Women’s Quarterfinals in just over an hour.

Demonstrating the mark of a true sportsman and champion, Li Na maintains a positive, humble attitude. “…still I do well for the whole tournament. Good experience for me…You never know. Maybe it’s day for [Clijsters], not for me…” More of Li Na’s interview here.

Li Na became the first Chinese tennis player to ever reach the top 30 (2006) and the top 20 (2007). She switched from badminton to tennis at age 8 when her coach saw her potential. More on her profile and stats here.

Watch Federer v. Soderling and Oudin v. Wozniacki play in the Men’s and Women’s US Open Quarterfinals LIVE tonight at 7pm on ESPN2.

★ M.A.R.A.★