Wearing tight, colourful outfits and sporting two pony-tails, Kim walked from hole to hole soaked in sweat. After her first round on the course, she had to get help from a physiotherapist to treat the cramps in her calves. "It was just really hot and we are fortunate that we are playing twosomes and it just keeps moving. If we were playing threesomes and it was this hot, it would be deathly slow," said the 22-year-old, ranked 38th on the money list.

However, there was a bright side to her suffering. Rumour has it that Kim told the physiotherapist she had shed several kilos after two days on the course. Perhaps if she spent one month in this tropical country she would return home looking like a model.

Tammy returns with interest

After her great run in the recent PTT Bangkok Open tennis tournament, where she made it to the final, Thai star Tamarine Tanasugarn has decided to give something back to the local fans who gave her so much support throughout the event. Tamarine, now ranked No 73 in the world and who is known locally as Tammy, yesterday donated Bt50,000 to the Rajaprachanukroh Foundation, which is under the patronage of His Majesty the King.

After poor performances all year, Tammy surprised the home crowds by advancing to the final of the PTT Bangkok Open. And although she didn't win the tournament, the Thai people felt proud of her. "I think that it was a great match," she said. "A big part of this success came from all the fans' support - they never gave up on me. I felt like I wanted to do something in return." Thailand's No 1 women's player gave some of her prize money from this tournament to the Rajaprachanukroh Foundation in order to help flood victims. She is such a nice and kind hearted person, it is no wonder her fans continue to support her.

Coach gets tough with pupils

The coach of Thailand's taekwondo team has a reputation as a strict disciplinarian, and three of his squad recently discovered just how strict he can be. Korean head coach Choe Young-suk has been training the squad for the past four years and for the past month they have been staying at a hotel near their training centre at Ramkamhaeng in Bangkok to prepare for December's Asian Games.

The tough Korean told all squad members they must be in their bedrooms by 8pm every night and that another coach would check to make sure they were there. However, Patiwat Thongsalub, Yaowapa Boorapolchai and Rapatkorn Prasopsuk were tired after their training and wanted to relax, so they went shopping at a market in front of Ramkamhaeng University and did not get back to their rooms in time.

The coach was furious and took to them with a baseball bat. The Korean also made them do push-ups for half hour each in front of the hotel lift. Guests at the hotel assumed that Thai athletes were very diligent and fit.

Eric rushes to another win

Rugby fans enjoyed a very entertaining night last week in the ballroom at the Conrad Hotel in Bangkok in what was billed as the "All-Star Rugby Speak-Off". Former stars Eric Rush of New Zealand, Martin Bayfield and Austin Healey of England and Jonathan Davies of Wales all entertained the large crowd with tales of their playing days, with each speaker taking the stage for 15 minutes. After the last speech, guests were asked to vote for the best speaker, and former All Black Rush took the prize.

All the players' stories had the crowd in stitches, but Rush bought the house down with his story of a fellow All Black, a front-rower. "The first time I played with him I came out of the shower after the match and he was staring at a mark on my shoulder," said Rush. "He asked me what it was, and I told him it was a birth mark. Then he asked me how long I'd had it. At that stage I realised he probably wasn't into rocket science."