Another player arrested for match fixing

Ninh Binh FC's Phan Anh Tuan.

Police on Thursday arrested Phan Anh Tuan of Ninh Binh football club, who allegedly participated in a shocking match-fixing scandal recently in the Asian Football Confederation Cup.

Ninh Binh chairman Pham Van Le later confirmed details of the arrest.

The midfielder is the third player to be temporarily detained after goalkeeper Nguyen Manh Dung and midfielder Tran Manh Dung, who are believed to have been the masterminds behind the scam.

Minh remains in world top 10

World elite badminton athlete Nguyen Tien Minh has maintained his position in the top 10, although he has dropped in the rankings by a remarkable number of points.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) yesterday released its latest ranking, which placed Minh at No 10, with 48,390 points.

Minh lost 2,787 points after the Viet Nam team were not permitted to compete at last week's Thomas Cup because the BWF had changed their rules.

The Vietnamese were extremely surprised by his position as he had been prepared for the drop in rank.

"At the age of 31, I knew that sooner or later, I would drop out of the top 10. It is unbelievable that I am still in the ranking [following Viet Nam's absence]. This will greatly encourage me ahead of the two major tournaments next month," Minh said.

The nation's best athlete is currently training hard for YONEX Open Japan and the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier.

Vietnam bags silver at Asian Nations Cup

The Vietnamese women’s team won a silver medal in the blitz chess category of the 18th Asian Nations Cup, which was wrapped up in Tabriz, Iran, on May 29.

Drawing 2-2 with India in the final round, the team was only awarded the silver medal because their sub-index was lower than the Indian rivals.

The team is comprised of four chess players: Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Elo 2316), Hoang Thi Nhu Y (Elo 2225), Nguyen Thi Thanh An (Elo 2275), Hoang Thi Bao Tram (Elo 2288) and Luu Phuong Hanh (Elo 2122).

They gained seven points in the qualifying round, earning a ticket to the semi-final.

Playing China in the semi-final, Bao Tram lost to Tan Zhongyi, Thanh An triumphed over Gou Qi, Nhu Y was defeated by Ju Wenjun, and Phuong Hanh was beaten by Huang Qian.

Tennis players to attend Vitar tourney in Russia

The Vietnam Tennis Federation recently announced that three Vietnamese athletes will participate in a tennis tournament sponsored by the Vietnam Tennis Association in Russia (Vitar-Incentra) in Moscow on June 7-8.

Le Quoc Khanh, Lam Quang Tri and Pham Minh Tuan, will compete in the single and double events.

This year’s event, the sixth of its kind, is also attracting overseas Vietnamese who are living and working in other European countries such as the Republic of Czech, Germany, Slovakia and Poland.

According to the organising board, the tournament aims to promote sport exchange between overseas Vietnamese in the EU and raise funds to help Vietnamese Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims.

T&T anxious to retain top spot

Defending champions Ha Noi T&T are set to keep their top position on the ranking table when they travel to struggling Hai Phong in their 17th-round encounter at Lach Tray Stadium tomorrow.

The Ha Noi-based football club, which claimed the top place after beating SHB Da Nang 2-0 at home on Wednesday, will enter the match tomorrow as the clear favourite over the home team, which have lost two recent games and are falling back towards the bottom of the table.

T&T, with its quality players in all areas, will be able to fill their possible strongest line-up as all key players are fit to play, while Hai Phong, in ninth place with 16 points, have some players suspended for receiving three yellow cards or punishment.

Becamex Binh Duong and Thanh Hoa, T&T's main opponents in the title race, both have the same 29 points. They seem to have a tougher task as they are expected to experience difficult matches this weekend.

Second-place Binh Duong face Than Quang Ninh, once atop the table but now in eighth place with 17 points, is the other match of note today.

The northeastern football club might not be as exciting and explosive as they were in the first half of the season, but it will require the former champions to sweat if they are to leave Cam Pha Stadium with three points.

Third-ranked Thanh Hoa face an even more daunting prospect of losing points when they visit SHB Da Nang. The unproductive away performance has cast doubts on Thanh Hoa's ambition of winning the V-League for the first time, and the game tomorrow at Chi Lang Stadium might be yet another manifestation of that poor showing.

With nine points behind the top three as well as a big gap in class, there is little chance for any team in the rest of the V-League to put a spoke in the title race's wheel.

Fifth-place Dong Nai will host rock-bottom Hung Vuong An Giang at Bien Hoa city. An Giang, which managed an encouraging 3-3 draw against Hoang Anh Gia Lai last weekend, ae expected to trouble the home team.

QNK Quang Nam take on Song Lam Nghe An at Tam Ky city in an even match. Quang Nam has been in steady form in the last four rounds, while Nghe An have not been a formidable force following the departure of key players.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai, which sit sixth with 18 points, will host Dong Tam Long An at Pleiku city in the Central Highlands. Long An, just five points above An Giang, definitely need more points to keep them in the V-League next season.

Cyclists compete in Kazakhstan

Vietnamese athletes will take part in the second stage of the Asian Cycling Championships in Karaganda, Kazakhstan today.

They will compete against more than 200 rivals from 26 other countries and territories.

Phan Nguyen Ngoc Trang, Nguyen Thi That and Nguyen Thi Lieu will join the women's 120km mass start event.

Nguyen Thanh Tam will test his skills in the U23 140km road race, while tomorrow, Mai Nguyen Hung will represent Viet Nam in the men's 200km road race.