China’s Anta Sports is making a bold global move, stepping beyond its home market with a major investment in Puma.

The company acquired a 29 percent stake in the German sportswear brand in a $1.8 billion deal, becoming Puma’s largest shareholder.

This signals Anta’s growing ambition to compete head-to-head with the biggest names in the global sportswear industry.

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From Small Workshop to Global Brand

Anta’s journey began in 1986 when founder Ding Shizong, a high school dropout from Fujian, borrowed 10,000 yuan from his father to start reselling shoes. After quickly turning a profit, he reinvested his earnings and built a small manufacturing workshop. This early hustle laid the foundation for what would become one of China’s biggest sportswear companies.

By 1991, Anta had officially launched its own brand and began expanding across China. Over time, the company focused on scaling production, improving product quality, and building strong local distribution. These efforts helped Anta grow from a small business into a global brand with a strong foothold in the sportswear market.

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Competing With the World’s Biggest Brands

Today, Anta controls around 23 percent of China’s sportswear market, surpassing both Nike and Adidas within the country. Its dominance at home has helped fuel its rise on the global stage, where it now ranks as the third-largest sportswear company. This growth reflects both strong local demand and strategic expansion beyond China.

Founder Ding Shizong has made it clear that Anta’s vision goes beyond being a regional leader. Rather than becoming the “Nike of China,” he aims to build what he calls the “Anta of the world.” With its recent investment in Puma, the company is taking a major step toward that goal and solidifying its place among the industry’s global giants.

At just 20 years old, Alex Eala is emerging as one of the most exciting new forces in women’s tennis. The Filipina athlete has captured global attention after defeating some of the sport’s most established champions.

In a sport historically dominated by Western powers, Eala’s rapid climb is a major milestone for Asian representation in tennis. Her growing success signals a shift in the global landscape of the sport.

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A Breakthrough That Turned Heads in Miami

Eala’s breakthrough moment came at the 2025 Miami Open, where she entered the tournament as a wildcard. Few expected the young Filipina to make a deep run, but she quickly stunned the field with a series of commanding victories.

During the tournament, Eala defeated multiple Grand Slam champions, including Iga Świątek, Madison Keys, and Jeļena Ostapenko. She later added a win over Coco Gauff, further proving she could compete against the very best in the sport.

Her run to the semifinals became one of the biggest stories of the tournament. It pushed her ranking into the WTA Top 100 and introduced her to a much wider global audience.

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Climbing Into the WTA Top 50

Following her breakout performance, Eala continued to build momentum throughout the season. Strong results in several tournaments helped her steadily climb the rankings and establish herself among the sport’s rising contenders.

By the end of the year, Eala officially entered the WTA Top 50, becoming the first Filipina player to reach that milestone. The achievement marked a historic moment not only for Philippine tennis but also for Southeast Asian representation in the sport.

More than just a personal accomplishment, her rise is inspiring a new generation of young athletes across Asia. As she continues to compete on the world stage, Alex Eala’s journey shows how talent, discipline, and opportunity can reshape the future of global tennis.

The first time Alice Shikina stepped into a Muay Thai ring, the moment felt bigger than the fight itself. The gloves were heavy, but what weighed more was everything she had been carrying in the months before.

She was in her late thirties, newly divorced, and raising two young children on her own. Her kids were just two and five years old, and the life she had carefully built no longer looked the same.

At the same time, she was trying to establish herself as a mediator and build her own business from the ground up. She didn’t know it yet, but the self-trust she was about to forge in that ring would become the foundation of how she led others through their own conflicts.

The Fight Before the Fight

Kickboxing began as a way to cope during a season that felt completely overwhelming. It gave Alice a physical outlet when her thoughts wouldn’t quiet down and her emotions felt too heavy to carry.

A few months later, Alice’s coach asked if she would consider competing. The idea unsettled her because she had never fought before and had never faced someone trained to strike back. For two months, she wrestled with the decision. What frightened her most was not losing, but the possibility of doubting herself under pressure.

When she finally committed, her routine became disciplined and demanding. She trained three hours a day, carving out time in the early mornings and late evenings while continuing to care for her children and grow her work.

The night before her first fight in Iowa, a coach told her that the real fight was already over because it happened during the grueling months of preparation. Once she realized that, her nerves calmed and a quiet steadiness took over. Even as she approached the ring to step in and fight, she felt unusually calm. She didn’t win that match, but she stayed on her feet until the final bell, and for a woman rebuilding her life, that was more than enough.

What the Ring Taught Her About Pressure

Alice went on to fight three more times. Afterwards, Alice turned her sights to competing in triathlons and even placed first in her age group at the Alcatraz Duathlon. While the medals were nice, the real reward was the quiet discipline she built through the discomfort of training.

She came to understand that fear does not simply fade with time. It softens only when you decide to move toward it.

She also learned that preparation changes how you carry yourself in difficult moments. When you put in the work, you stand differently, breathe more steadily, and think more clearly under pressure.

Today, those lessons shape how she sits with couples navigating divorce and teams facing workplace conflict. When emotions rise and conversations begin to unravel, she remains steady, drawing on the same discipline that once kept her composed in the ring.

Building Her Practice on Her Own Terms

Alice now runs Shikina Mediation and Arbitration full-time, helping divorcing couples, families, and organizations reach agreements they once thought were out of reach. Most clients come to her when communication has broken down and trust feels fragile.

Early in her career, she tried building her business by networking with attorneys, but quickly saw the bias against non-attorney mediators in a field long dominated by older white men. Instead of forcing herself into a system that did not fully welcome her, she shifted her focus to working directly with couples and workplace clients, growing her practice into a thriving full-time business over the past decade. In 2025, Alice was awarded the prestigious Raymond Shonholtz Visionary Peacemaker Award by San Francisco’s Community Boards.

Her work has expanded beyond the mediation room. She hosts the podcast, Negotiation with Alice, now over 100 episodes strong. She authored the book Negotiating with Your Kids, and continues to teach communication and conflict resolution to executives and C-Suite staff. As a second-generation Okinawan American whose parents survived the Battle of Okinawa as children, resilience runs deep in her story. 

Nothing in business, she says, will ever feel as intimidating as stepping into a ring to face an unknown opponent. In that ring, she rebuilt her confidence. At the mediation table, she now helps others rebuild their lives with clarity, courage, and peace.

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