Cuong to compete in 2016 Olympics

Vietnamese marksman Tran Quoc Cuong has earned a berth in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Cuong ranked sixth in the men's 10m air pistol event in the recent International Shooting Sport Federation World Championships in Spain.

According to the rule, all top six shooters automatically qualify for the upcoming Olympics.

Earlier, top Vietnamese shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh also earned a berth in the next Olympics, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5 to 21, 2016.

Long An trains three football players in Japan

V-League's Dong Tam Long An have sent three young players for a two-month training course with Sapporo Club in Japan.

Enjoying their practice games with Sapporo, who are competing at the J-League, are striker Duong Anh Tu, 18; left defender Tran Minh Tong, 18; and midfielder Nguyen Khac Vu, 17.

The training is one of the activities marking the ties of co-operation between the two sides. In the near future, Long An may be sending more players to Japan if the results of the training of the first three players prove to be positive.

Sy signs contract to coach Can Tho for three seasons

V-League's new team Can Tho have signed a contract with well-known coach Nguyen Van Sy in their first season at the national premier league in 2015.

The contract will reportedly be valid for three years. And in their first season, the team aim to perform well so that they are not relegated to the lower league. Last month, Sy completed his contract with the troubled Ninh Binh whose future is undecided after their match-fixing and gambling scandals.

Wushu teams aim for ASIAD gold with 13 martial artists

Viet Nam's wushu teams will take part in the 17th Asian Games (ASIAD) in Incheon, South Korea, with 13 martial artists competing in the taolu and sanshou events.

Wushu will be a demonstration sport for which events will be held at Ganghwa Dolmens Gymnasium in Incheon from September 20 to 24.

The taolu (performance) team combines junior and senior participants, including former world champions Le Quoc Khanh and Nguyen Thanh Tung and Southeast Asian Games winner Xuan Hiep. The sanshou (combat) squad is made up of six athletes, including ASIAD silver medallist Tan Thi Ly in the womens 60-kg category.

According to Le Minh Ha, head of the National Sports Administration's Wushu Department, powerful rivals include China in both events; Hong Kong, Macau and Indonesia in taolu; and Iran in sanshou.

The Vietnamese teams trained under international experts since the beginning of the year and took an intensive training course in China in preparation for the Games. They will leave for the competition on September 16 and strive for at least one gold medal.

HTV masters win media Chinese chess tournament

Journalists from HCM City Television (HTV) won both individual and team events at a Chinese chess tournament held yesterday at Viet Nam News Agency's Southern Region Representative Office.

In the individual category, Trinh Quoc Trong Nghia, from HTV won the first prize. Pham Manh Hung, of the Radio and Television Broadcasting College II and Pham Thanh Hung, from Binh Duong Province Television, secured second and third prizes, respectively.

In team class, HTV won the first prize. Binh Duong Province Television and Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper's Chinese version, were runners-up.

The fourth annual chess competition, held to mark the 69th anniversary of Viet Nam News Agency, attracted 80 journalists from 16 news agencies, television stations, newspapers in HCM City and neighbouring provinces.

Organisers said the tournament become bigger in terms of the number and quality of players and awards since it was first held in 2011.

Vietnam hosts first Mekong football competition

Vietnam is hosting the first Toyota Mekong Club Championships, which attracts the best football teams from the Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Vietnam’s Becamex Binh Duong team is representing Vietnam in the competition, which runs from October 31 to November 2.

The winning team will be awarded the championship cup and 75,000 USD, while the best player will receive 3,000 USD.

In a press conference on September 12, Kyoichi Tanaka from Toyota Group said sponsoring the competition is part of Toyota’s commitment to nurturing young football talents in the region.

He also pledged to continue support for the championships in the future.-

HCM City: More schools to join school football project

As many as 200 primary schools in Ho Chi Minh City intend to join in the School Football Project as part of efforts to improve their students’ physical development.

The information was revealed at the review of the trial implementation of the project, co-held by the provincial Department of Education and Training (DoET) and the Ho Chi Minh City Football Federation (HFF) on September 11.

During 2013-2014, 1,500 third-grade students from 41 primary schools enthusiastically participated in the project, playing the games as part of their physical education.

As the project is to run till 2018, the number of participating students will be raised to 16,000 students, receiving training twice a week.

The target schools will continue teaching football after project ends, said the Department of Education and Training.

For the project to be successful, training methods will be customized and school instructors will be trained, according to the HFF.

Tournaments will be held for students to learn from each other.

Hanoi Baseball Open attracts int’l teams

The Hanoi Baseball Open International Championship tournament, which kicked off at the My Dinh national sports complex centre on September 13 and runs until 21, has attracted foreign teams from Russia, Thailand and Japan.

At the tournament qualifiers, Vietnamese U10 and U12 teams compete in a round robin format on September 13-14 to select the best four teams to enter the final round. U16 teams will join the event on September 20-21.

Established in 2008, the Hanoi Youth Baseball Club has so far attracted 100 members who are primary and secondary school students in Hanoi.

Every year, the club sends delegations to compete in many regional and international tournaments in the US, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Festive send-off held for Vietnamese participants in 17th Asian Games

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam wished the Vietnamese sports contingent solidarity, confidence and success in the upcoming 17th Asian Games (Asiad) in Incheon, Republic of Korea from September 19 to October 4.

Addressing the September 13 send-off event held in Hanoi for the national sports delegation, Deputy PM Dam encouraged Vietnamese athletes to perform their best to bring glory to homeland and fulfill well their role as Vietnam’s goodwill ambassadors to international friends.

The government leader then handed over the national flag and assigned tasks to the national sports delegation for the Asiad campaign.

Deputy Director of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training and head of the Vietnam Asiad sports team, Lam Quang Thanh informed the deputy PM of the contingent’s preparation for the Games and affirmed that all athletes were ready for competitions.

On behalf of the athletes, two prominent gymnasts, Pham Phuoc Hung and Phan Thi Ha Thanh, swore to compete with utmost determination for highest results in order to live up to everyone’s expectations.

Vietnam sends a 298-member delegation to the 17th Asiad, with 199 athletes on 22 teams competing in 21 sports and targeting to win from 2-4 gold medals. The country’s golden hopes are pinned on Nguyen Thi Anh Vien (swimming), Phan Thi Ha Thanh (gymnastics), Thach Kim Tuan (weightlifting) and Hoang Xuan Vinh (shooting).

The contingent is scheduled to depart for Incheon on September 15 and take part in a flag-flying ceremony held by the Asiad organising board in the Asiad Athlete Village on September 17, two days ahead of the opening ceremony. The 16-day event will feature the participation of 45 sports delegations from across Asia in 439 disciplines of 36 official sports.

VNS/VOV/ND/VNA