Binh Duong, T&T to represent VN at AFC Champions League 2015

Becamex Binh Duong and Hanoi T&T will represent Vietnam at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League next year.

Binh Duong, the national champions, and T&T, the runners-up, will replace Super Cup winner Hai Phong, which previously won a place in the League's playoff round but lost their spot after the AFC announced that the V-League team failed to meet its requirements on infrastructure conditions.

In Southeast Asia, apart from Vietnam, Thailand has one berth in the main round and two in the playoffs while Indonesia has one in the playoffs.

The AFC also gave one playoff berth each to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar.

Fans unhappy at price hike for AFF semi-final matches

Fans are unhappy when the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has raised ticket prices for AFF Cup matches following the success of the local side in the first round.

Seat prices for the AFF Cup 2014 qualification round were set at four levels, from VND100,000 to VND350,000, and were well taken, with fans flocking to My Dinh National Stadium to watch the 3-1 win over the Philippines.

Then, the VFF said semi-final round tickets between Vietnam and Malaysia would rise by VND50,000 for each level -- VND150,000 to VND400,000 each.

Fans alleged the VFF was exploiting the national squad’s victory.

But VFF General Secretary Le Hoai Anh said fans misunderstood the situation, maintaining prices for the qualification, semi-final and final rounds were determined before the win.

“The organisation board defined ticket prices for all rounds right from the beginning," Mr Anh said. "However, we did not announce the prices of other rounds before being sure that the national football team could enter the semi-final round.

"It’s not true that VFF is trying to earn more money from the recent victory.”

The semi-finals' first leg will be organised on December 7 in Malaysia and the second leg will be played four days later at My Dinh.

Tickets for the second leg at My Dinh National Stadium will go on sale on December 6. The VFF will take registration for tickets from December 3.

Vietnam suffers huge loss to Thailand at Axiata Cup

The national badminton squad has been handed a reality check after suffering a walloping by Thailand, 1-3, and at the fifth preliminary round of the 2014 Axiata Cup Badminton Championships in Jakarta, Malaysia.

Vietnam’s sole point was obtained by Nguyen Tien Minh who showed excellent performance in beating 17th ranked Thailand’s No.1 Boonsak Ponsana 2-0 (21-18, 21-13).

The men’s doubles team Bao Minh/ Nguyen Khang lost to Nipitphon/ Paungpuapech 17-21 and 13-21.

Women’s singles player Phuong Hong also failed to collect a point when she lost 13-21 and 8-21 to Buranaprasertsuk.

In the mixed doubles Bao Duc/ Kim Ngan also came up empty handed when they were defeated by Taerattanacha/ Maneepong Jongjit 2-1(21-14,11-21,17-21).

The Axiata Cup badminton championship, sponsored by the Axiata Group, has been successfully held over the last two years and is ‘the richest team badminton’ event in the world today with the prize money of US$1 million.

Vietnam win three gold medals at ASEAN Schools Games

Vietnam won three gold medals on the second day of the Sixth ASEAN Schools Games (ASG) in Marikina City, Metro Manila in the Philippines.

The quartet of Le Van Duc, Nguyen Trung Kien, Vu Manh Duy and Le Dinh Duc on December 3 defeated their Malaysian rivals to take a gold medal in the men's team category of the table tennis event.

"We did not think of a title before leaving for the tournament because it is the first time my players are taking part in these Games," said coach Vu Manh Cuong.

"However, they successfully overcame heavy pressure to beat strong rivals Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia to grab the gold. It is a worthy award for them after making strong efforts in this biggest sporting event for students," Cuong added.

The title in table tennis was the third one for the day. Earlier, the Vietnam national anthem was sung twice in athletics events.

The first gold medal went to Le Quang Hoa in the men's 1,500m while the second went to Dinh Thi Bich in the women's 1,500m.

Lo Thi Thanh, Bich's teammate, placed second in this event and took the silver medal.

In the first day of competition on Monday, runner Ha Thi Thu stole the limelight with a victory in the women's 100m and the country's first gold medal in this year's Games.

Le Manh Hung, Vietnam's chief of mission, predicted Thu's victory to encourage other teammates in the coming days. Later, Le Viet An won the silver medal in the men's 800m.

Today, Vietnamese athletes will compete in the qualifying rounds of athletics as well as table tennis, wushu, swimming and badminton.

After two days, Vietnam ranked third in the medal tally with four gold and two silver medals. Malaysia placed first with six gold medals, followed by Thailand with five.

The ASG is an annual sports competition among student-athletes of participating countries.

Philippine Education Secretary Armin Luistro, honorary chairman of the ASG governing board, explained that the competition aimed to give the youth a chance to gauge their athletic prowess and promote solidarity and cultural exchange among participants.

This year, a total of 1,500 students from seven countries are taking part in the Games and competing in 11 sports.

This is the first time the Philippines has hosted the event, which will run from November 29 to December 7.

Le Van Dong wins first stage of Trans-Viet cycling tournament

Le Van Dong of VTV Can Tho won the first stage of the National Defence Cup, the Trans-Viet cycling tournament, yesterday.

Dong finished the 185km stage from Ca Mau to Can Tho City with a time of 4hr 32.05min. Nguyen Vu Linh of ADC-Vinh Long Television placed second and Le Minh Nguyet of HCM City 2 placed third.

Dong also led the green jersey race with 32 points. His outstanding performance also pushed his team to the top of the race with a total time of 13:39.02. Domesco Dong Thap 1 placed second and ADC placed third.

Today, cyclists will finish the 179km stage from Can Tho City to HCM City.

The annual tournament attracted more than 80 athletes from 15 teams. They will race on routes, totalling nearly 1,300km and divided into 12 stages, for prizes worth VND500 million (US$23,800). The competition ends on December 16.

Badminton Viet Nam draw with Philippines in Indonesian Cup

Viet Nam drew with the Philippines 2-2 in their fourth match at the ongoing Axiata Cup in Indonesia yesterday.

National No 1 Nguyen Tien Minh, who arrived here after competing in a Malaysian tournament, beat Antonio Benjamin Gadi 21-16, 21-8 in the first men's singles match.

Vu Thi Trang made it 2-0 with a 21-16, 21-8 win over Sarah Joy Barredo in the women's singles match.

However, the Vietnamese players failed to win in the doubles matches. Duo Dao Manh Thang and Le Ha Anh lost 18-21, 17-21 to Paul Jeffersen Vivas and Peter Gabriel Magnaye in the men's doubles.

Later, Duong Bao Duc and Pham Nhu Thao went down 15-21, 21-8, 15-21 to Ronel Estanislao and Joella Geva De Vera in the mixed doubles.

It was the first draw of the team after their first win of 4-0 over Singapore on Sunday. They had lost three matches previously. With seven points, Viet Nam are currently ranked sixth out of eight participating teams.

They will play Thailand in the next match.