The country that gave the world table tennis is aiming to be one of the sport's superpowers...In London, local table tennis promoters are making fresh attempts to bring this overlooked sport back into the mainstream.

Youth exchanges between Russia and the USA in the field of sports are gaining speed. They are organized by the US-Russia Presidential Commission, Obama-Medvedev, as part of numerous programmes in the field of sports. This commission was set up by the presidents of the two countries on July 6th, 2009, during the visit of the US leader to Moscow and it is aimed at improving the relationships and cooperation between the governments of Russia and the USA.

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard is in Bangalore and Delhi from next Tuesday training the senior men’s national team and carrying out basketball clinics as part of the Mahindra NBA Challenge, a basketball league started up this summer to get young people interested in the game.

It was a moment of sports diplomacy— two groups of boys separated by language, culture and food but united in their love for an American game that only recently has been exported to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

This year, team USA's strong performance in the World Cup inspired Americans to follow the sport in record numbers. Now that the sport has our notice, there is a good reason for us to keep paying attention. Believe it or not, that little black and white ball might just be the key to winning the peace in Iraq.

The Vermont Institute on the Caribbean, better known as VIC, organized a cultural baseball exchange in 2007. Sending kids and parents to the Dominican Republic, they are housed with local families, learning about their way of life and of course, baseball.

The 27th July marks just two years to go to the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games which will see excited fans from around the world descend on the UK capital to participate in what will be the nation’s most prestigious sporting event to date.