In a country famed for its distance runners and sweltering sun, few would expect Kenya to be enthusiastic about winter sports. But at an ice rink in the capital, some young Kenyans are playing a new and exciting western game.

From Caracas to Seoul, America's beloved sport is a global obsession.

Sports are making the well-known ambassador, who often goes by her Korean name, Shim Eun-kyung, even more popular among Koreans. She regularly plays tennis, for example, with Korean friends at her residence behind downtown Seoul's Deoksu Palace.

After many rounds of peace talks gone bad, India and Pakistan are still very much at odds. But now, an unlikely duo of sports-loving 30-year-olds is aiming to see if a tennis match can solve what diplomacy has been unable to.

At a sun-drenched park on Suva's waterfront, Fiji's rugby-loving military ruler Voreqe Bainimarama extols the benefits of tai chi as a master of the slow-motion Chinese martial art looks on. Bainimarama's conversion to tai chi's gentle techniques...symbolizes his quest since his 2006 coup to forge closer links with China.

The Commonwealth Games are not expected to be particularly gripping viewing for sports fans. After all, most of the top international athletes have pulled out, citing everything from scheduling to muscle strains as evidence of India’s abysmal planning piled up and Delhi was stricken with an outbreak of dengue fever.

Troubles besetting the New Delhi Commonwealth Games have thrown a fresh spotlight on the grouping's long-term decline, but a role in facilitating behind-the-scenes diplomacy will ensure its continued survival.

The first batch of athletes arrived in India for the Commonwealth Games on Friday, opting to stay at a hotel instead of unfinished, filthy accommodation as the future of the showcase event hung in the balance.