MOGADISHU adidas superstar rainbow black , June 8 (Xinhua) -- It was a Sunday afternoon, a group of about 30 trainees were throwing jabs into the air as they learnt the Japanese style of defense, taekwondo.


Ahmed Mohamed Hajji is the director who learned the skill in Ethiopia after fleeing the war-torn Somalia.


"When I came back after being in Ethiopia for some years, I decided that it would be a good idea to introduce taekwondo to the youth in Mogadishu adidas superstar rainbow white ," Hajji told Xinhua Sunday.


Hajji said starting the training was not an easy task as financial resources were difficult to find and Somalis were not familiar with the sport.


"At first I found it hard to convince the youth to join the training even though I was offering it for free. But after some time, they started coming along. Many young people are now interested in joining the training," Hajji recalled the first days of his training career.


For Hajji, the acceptability of the game in Somali is not only an issue of money adidas superstar rainbow paint splatter , but also the conservative nature of the Somali community meaning few women would be interested in his training.


"I now have one lady who broke the tradition to attend the trainings. I hope more ladies will develop interests in taekwondo, " said Hajji.


Ugbad Hassan, the only lady among 29 men, said she is confident she can do well and be a role model to her female colleagues who view taekwondo as a male-only game.


"I am the only girl taking this training and many people have not been happy about my plan to learn taekwondo. I am lucky that my family has been supportive of my ambition to be a professional taekwondo player adidas superstar pride pack for sale ," said the lady player.


Sadaq Ifrah, 18, said he has been following the trainings for the last five months and is excited to further enhance his expertise on the game.


"I first joined the taekwondo class out of curiosity but have developed a lot of interests ever since. I hope one day I would be in a position to compete at professional level when taekwondo become a professional sport in Somalia," Ifrah narrated his dream about taekwondo.


Isaaq Abdi adidas nmd chukka grey , another player whose passion for the game was motivated by stories from friends who had joined the class. "I got information from a friend that there were taekwondo classes going on and I decided to attend. With time I was able to learn and enjoy the game." Abdi said.


Hajji, who is offering the classes for free hopes to get support in the future.


"I hope our government will one day consider supporting me so that we can build and elevate the status of taekwondo in Somalia. This is a professional sport, which can give our youth a chance to even compete at international level," said the director.


Sports like taekwondo could help the devastated Somalia to recover as they engage young people in constructive activities adidas nmd chukka black suede , which prevent them from falling into crimes or even terrorist activities, as some analysts note.


Rory McIlroy was kicking himself after carding a first-round one-under-par 71 as he started the defense of his European PGA Championship title at Wentworth on Thursday.


The world No.1 was four shots off the early pace set by Sweden's Robert Karlsson, who had a 67, and three away from England's Chris Wood and a pair of Spaniards in Miguel -Angel Jimenez and Jorge Campillo who all shot 68s.


McIlroy adidas nmd chukka for sale , fresh from his win at Quail Hollow in the US last week, had started with a bogey at the par-four first and was never better than one under par and could only manage pars on the two closing par-fives.


"I felt like I left a couple out there but when I look at the leader board I'm only three shots off the lead," the Northern Irishman told reporters.


"Everyone else must have been finding it quite difficult out there, as well. I didn't feel like any aspect of my game was really off today.


"But at the same time adidas nmd human race yellow , I didn't do anything that good, either. There's definitely room for improvement over the next few days."


McIlroy is following a relentless schedule flying into London from the US on -Monday, attending the European Tour's Players' Awards dinner on Tuesday night and playing Wednesday's Pro-Am with -former Manchester United -soccer players Paul Scholes and Phil Neville.


And the Northern Irishman was aiming to put his feet up after venting his frustrations on the course during his first round.


"Physically I'm all right," he said. "Mentally I feel myself -getting a bit angry out there which I haven't been doing the last few weeks. I just sort of need to stay in control of my emotions because I feel like that's one of the things adidas nmd human race blue , if I'm a little tired or a little fatigued mentally, I'll start to be hard on myself and start to get down on myself."


The Northern Irishman is looking for his fourth title of the year after wins in Dubai and at the WGC Match Play Championship to add to last week's triumph in Charlotte, North Carolina.


Karlsson had two birdies in the last three holes to nip into the lead after Campillo had -finished with a flourish, making a birdie four at the 17th and eagling the par-five 18th to build on his encouraging -seventh place in last week's Spanish Open.


Another Spaniard adidas nmd human race red , Pablo Larrazabal was a shot back after an opening 69.



Retired athletes attend a class as part of the "Hundred People Plan" in Shanghai on April 8. Photo: Ni DandanGT

Sitting in a classroom in the Shanghai No.2 Sports School, Shen Qiong is no longer the captain of the Shanghai men's volleyball team. He is now the monitor of "class two" of the "Hundred People Plan," a new coaching program for retired sports people in Shanghai.


The one-year scheme offers the city's former athletes the opportunity to comprehensively study sports-related core courses. These full-time students receive the same salary as when they were serving on their teams.


It's the first year of program and around 90 students are taking th.