France's teen sensation Dominique Malonga ready to dunk on WNBA
– A 1.98m teenage dunking sensation out of France is ready to take the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) by storm, as second overall draft pick Dominique Malonga brings experience well beyond her years to Seattle.
The 19-year-old is known as the 'female Wembanyama' – after compatriot and National Basketball Association star Victor Wembanyama for her distinctive size and athleticism, and is on her way to becoming a fan favourite even before the Seattle Storm's May 17 season tip-off.
'Dominique is well beyond her years when it comes to being a pro. She catches on to things very quickly. She asks the right questions,' said veteran Nneka Ogwumike, the 2016 league Most Valuable Player.
'I'm very grateful that we have her here, especially because she dunks and I don't want get dunked on.'
She has wasted no time showing off that signature skill, dunking in her first practice with the team in footage that quickly picked up momentum on social media.
Despite her youth, Malonga already has the advantage of four years of professional experience playing in Europe, though she told reporters the new league would take some adjustment.
'There is a huge difference I would say in the pace. The game is so fast here and I need to really adapt to that. But that's also what I like because I love to run, to run the floor and that's also where I feel that I fit to this game,' she said.
Malonga, who helped France to silver as the youngest player on her national team at the Paris Olympics, said that playing in high-level games at a young age would make her an asset in the WNBA, where rookies are typically 21 or older.
One of those older rookies is Paige Bueckers, 23, the only player picked ahead of Malonga.
Asked on May 8 what she is enjoyed most about being a member of the Dallas Wings, Bueckers said the easy answer was 'everything'.
'Just the people here. Coach Chris (Koclanes) talked about how obviously finding success is important, but you want to find great people first,' Bueckers said during a conference call.
'I think they've done a great job from top to bottom finding people who are easy to work with, easy to work for.'
Bueckers is gearing up for the start of her WNBA career, which officially begins May 16 when the Wings host none other than Bueckers' hometown team, the Minnesota Lynx, on opening night.
The University of Connecticut star and No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft could play a major role in revitalising a Dallas franchise that missed the play-offs in 2024 with a 9-31 record.
Bueckers said the city and franchise have been welcoming in the few short weeks she has been in town since being drafted on April 15.
Bueckers and Malonga will hope to have an impact similar to their 2024 draft class predecessors Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.
Twenty-two regular-season games eclipsed 1 million viewers in 2024. One game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky, pitting Clark against her college rival Reese, was the WNBA's most-watched game in 23 years at 2.25 million; their rematch the next week attracted 2.3 million.
Clark and Reese only accelerated the popularity of a league that has been steadily growing since the turn of the decade. REUTERS
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Asia News Network
22 minutes ago
- Asia News Network
Despite scant resources, Nepal's para-fighters keep kicking
July 28, 2025 KATHMANDU – Every morning, except on Saturdays, Kabiraj Negi Lama walks into a modest taekwondo hall of the Nepal Taekwondo Association building in Satdobato, Lalitpur. The sun has barely risen, but the space is already abuzz with the echoes of powerful, menacing kicks hitting paddle targets and the sharp 'aah!' of athletes pushing their limits. They are para-taekwondo players—five of them—all chasing the same dream: medals for the country. And Lama is their coach—unpaid, unrecognised, but still holding on. Less than a year ago, Lama helped Palesha Goverdhan win Nepal's first-ever medal at the world's biggest multi-sport stage—a bronze in the K44 -57kg category at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. It was a moment of historic pride. Flags waved. Speeches were made. Promises poured in. Among them was a simple one: Lama would be given a formal coaching role. But nearly a year later, Lama, under whom Nepal has secured 11 official international medals, including three gold, two silver, and six bronze, is yet to be appointed. By day, Lama works at the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). By early morning, he volunteers his time, training the next generation of para-fighters—Bharat Singh Mahata, Amir Bhlon, Dipesh Mahat, Kamana Prasai, and Renu Tamang—who are now preparing for the 10th Asia Para Taekwondo Championships, a G4 category event, in Kuching, Malaysia. Goverdhan (-57kg), Mahata (-58kg), Bhlon (-63kg), Prasai (-47kg), and Tamang (-47kg) will be leaving for the tournament on July 29, with their bouts taking place on August 1. 'Mahat, who does not have both of his hands, will not join us as his category did not have enough players,' Lama said. 'Goverdhan will join us in Kuala Lumpur directly from China, where she is pursuing her bachelor's in architecture engineering. We will then head to Kuching together.' The Kathmandu District Taekwondo Association and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) bid farewell to the squad at an event on Saturday. 'It's a big tournament,' Lama said. 'A good result here could open doors for our athletes for LA 2028.' A medal, but no job Lama's own Olympic dream had ended years ago—he was a promising taekwondo athlete, but was often outmatched due to his shorter height. 'My height wasn't on my side,' he said. 'So, I thought maybe I could make it as a referee, just to be part of the Olympics.' That path, too, closed. But during referee training, Lama learned something that reshaped his purpose: the Olympics and Paralympics were of equal stature, organised under the same structures and values. Pulling up the official social media pages of Paris 2024, LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032, he shows their profile pictures. 'The emblems of the Olympics and Paralympics are side-by-side. These matching logos say it all,' Lama said. 'My dream was to reach the Olympics. I couldn't do it as an athlete, but I became part of a medal-winning team. And now, others are chasing the same dream. I can't walk away from them.' Dreams on Rs100 a day The five athletes Lama trains are determined but financially strained. They get just Rs100 a day from the association for training, which barely covers transport cost. A separate Rs500 daily stipend under the government's 'Mission 26' programme, an initiative aimed at securing a gold and double-digit medals at the 2026 Asian Games, was also recently cut at the end of the fiscal year 2024-25, citing budget constraints. Lama was among its recipients. In martial arts, where a practitioner needs good nutrition and diet to stay fit while focusing on preventing injuries, a couple of hundred rupees is dirt in the desert. Still, the athletes keep showing up. Take Bharat Singh Mahata. He hails from a village near Lipulekh, one of Nepal's most remote border regions. Born without his left hand below the elbow, Mahata initially played volleyball but had to stop due to the lack of inclusive opportunities. He came to Kathmandu in 2015 in search of some para-sports to join. 'I looked up one-hand cricket on YouTube and even tried wheelchair cricket in Kathmandu,' he recalled. 'But nothing worked out.' Disheartened, he returned to his village, a journey that still takes over two days, with hours of walking from the final bus stop. In 2023, he came back to the Capital after hearing about para-taekwondo and met Lama. Just two years in, he is already considered one of Nepal's most promising fighters. 'I just wanted a space where I'd be recognised for my talent,' he said. 'People like us aren't given proper jobs. We're not seen through the same lens. With wins in major tournaments, I want to change the way we are seen.' Now 27, Mahata is married, has a young son, and supports three sisters. He keeps cows to sell milk and helps run the household. 'Rs100 may sound like nothing, but it's what kept me going,' he said. 'Whether taking a bus or buying a bottle of water, I think a hundred times before spending money. I know I'm getting almost nothing from the state, but at least that amount has kept me going.' Mahata also returns in the evenings from Kirtipur to train with able-bodied taekwondoins, pushing himself to perform at an even higher level. Gold, not survival Inside the training hall, two A4-sized papers hang on the wall: one bears the LA28 logo, the other, the 2026 Asian Games emblem. Mahata taped them up himself. 'Paris was tough,' he said of the Paralympics, where he failed to progress towards a medal. 'But the Asian Games in Japan and the Paralympics in LA—they won't be the same. This time, I'm not training for bronze or silver. I aim for gold.' The ambition has caught on. Amir Bhlon, who took up the sport on October 24, 2021, a date he clearly remembers, begins his morning routine by circling the Satdobato sports complex seven times—his warm-up ritual. 'I'll keep getting better and better,' he said. 'I want to win medals on the biggest platforms.' Each of the athletes shares a similar story: limited financial support, poor job security, and mounting personal responsibilities. 'There are no good jobs for people with disabilities in this country,' said Bhlon. 'I used to work for an online platform—calling clients, reminding them of payment deadlines. But I left to focus on training. How I'm surviving now, even I don't know.' Yet, every morning, they return to that hall, their kicks sharper, their voices louder, and their eyes still locked on a brighter future. Will the medal matter? Lama believes the Paris bronze changed something. Since Goverdhan's win, there's been a visible surge in interest as more persons with disabilities are exploring para-sports, asking about opportunities, and showing up. 'Thanks to the hall and basic training equipment provided by the association,' Lama continued, 'we can at least keep kicking and keep moving towards the dreams that seem impossible.' But whether that interest is matched with institutional backing remains uncertain. 'If we don't act now, we'll lose them,' Lama said. 'This can't be a one-time story. There has to be a system in place.'
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
'Lucky' De Minaur saves three match points to lift Washington Open title
Alex De Minaur rallied from a set down and saved three match points to claim the Washington Open title with a 5-7 6-1 7-6(3) win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final of the ATP 500 event on Sunday. The Australian number one, who lost the 2018 final to Alexander Zverev, felt he rode his luck to secure his 10th career title and ensure he will enter the top 10 in the world rankings ahead of next month's U.S. Open. The two 26-year-olds exchanged breaks early in the opening set before Spain's Davidovich Fokina seized control by breaking again and closed out the set with the help of some crisp forehand winners. De Minaur responded emphatically in the second set, converting two of four break-point opportunities while holding serve throughout, wrapping up the set in just over 30 minutes with an ace to level the contest. The Spaniard looked on course for his first career title when he broke to grab the lead in the decider but he failed to serve out the match at 5-3, sending a forehand long to hand the break back to seventh seed De Minaur. Davidovich Fokina's frustration mounted as the 12th seed squandered three match points on De Minaur's serve, and the Australian then capitalised on a series of unforced errors in the tiebreak to edge the contest. "I came here in 2018 and it gave me so much confidence, so I'm so happy that I was able to come back and end up winning the title," De Minaur said at the trophy presentation. "Alejandro, you're way too good not to have one of these, it's coming for sure," he added, gesturing to the trophy. "You deserved it today, I just got lucky. You are a hell of a competitor, hell of a player. No one on the tour wants to play you. And this is not the end, this is only going on for you." Davidovich Fokina recalled that he had required a wild card to play in the U.S. capital last year and was pleased to have at least guaranteed a rise to a career high world number 19 when the rankings are updated on Monday. "He deserved the win, he was fighting every ... ball, he was always pushing through my limits," Davidovich Fokina said. "We had a job to do before we started the year, to be at the middle of the year in the top 20. This week we did it, just not with the trophy. But for sure, we will keep going, pushing our limits, pushing harder." REUTERS
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
De Minaur saves three match points to lift Washington Open title
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