Hoang Nam clinches ITF championship title

Vietnamese tennis teenager Ly Hoang Nam outplayed top seed Boris Pokotilov of Russia in a final match on October 27, claiming a historic victory at the ITF's Group II youth tennis championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

The first set saw a tight race between Pokotilov (world rank 103rd) and underdog Nam (world rank 142nd), ending in 6-6 and forcing the two to play a tie-breaker.

Despite his physical strength, Pokotilov fought hard against Nam’s long-distance, wise serves and fell into his opponent’s trap, surrendering to the Vietnamese player in the tie-breakers.

A shoulder injury also prevented the Russian player continuing the second set, meaning Nam won the final match.

Hoang Nam expects to improve his global ranks after the hictoric victory in Thailand (PhotoVNE)

Nam went down in history as the first young Vietnamese player to take the trophy at an ITF tournament.

The Vietnamese player beat Kaewsuto Chayanon of Thailand in the semi-finals and Hua Runhao of China in the quarter-finals before entering the final match.

With the historic victory, Nam got an additional 100 points and is expected to be placed in the top 100 young players.

His predecessor Hoang Thien qualified for the final game of ITF Juniors 2011, but lost to his opponent in the decisive serves.

Vietnam take bronze at AFF Futsal tournament

Vietnam won a bronze medal at the ASEAN Football Federation Futsal Championships in Thailand on October 27.

The Vietnamese squad defeated Indonesia 7-3 in the third-place play-off match at Bangkok's Thonburi University Stadium.

In the final, Thailand beat Australia 2-1 to take the trophy.

The Vietnamese team will return home to prepare for an international event organised by the Ho Chi Minh City Football Federation from November 20-23.

Meanwhile, the Asian Football Confederation has selected Vietnam as the host of the Asian Futsal Championships in 2014.

The tournament will see 14 teams competing from April 30-May 11 at the Phu Tho and Ton Duc Thang College gymnasiums in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam overcame Thailand and Iran to be the host for the second time. The first time was in 2005.

At present, there are seven teams qualified for the tournament. Japan are the defending champions. Thailand and Iran are the two runners-up.

China are the winner of the East Zone qualifiers and their runners-up. And Vietnam are the seventh team as the host.

Ha Long Bay Int’l Marathon attracts foreign athletes

Nearly 300 professional and amateur athletes, including 200 foreigners participated in the International Marathon 2013 in Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province, on October 27.

Many of the athletes came from marathon powers such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, the UK and China.

They ran for men’s and women’s singles in distances ranging from 5km to 42km.

Nearly 1,000 athletes in Quang Ninh province also competed in a 2km race.

The same day, the first Vietnam-Japan Cultural Exchange 2013 was also held with the participation of art troupes from Japan and Quang Ninh.

Ha Quang Long, Director of the provincial department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the international marathon and the Vietnam-Japan cultural exchange were organized to mark the 50th anniversary of Quang Ninh province, 20th anniversary of Ha Long city and 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Japan.

They aimed to introduce international friends to Quang Ninh’s people and land, and help Vietnam’s marathon athletes to share experience in professional competitions with foreign marathoners.

Hoang Yen comes in second at World Chinese Chess

Vietnamese chess player Hoang Yen took home a silver medal after a draw with Jia Dan of the US in her last match at the World Chinese Chess Championship 2013 in China on October 26.

In the women’s singles, chess masters were required to play 9 matches in a round robin format to select the winner.

After 8 games, Yen won 7 and lost 1 to Tang Dan of China who was leading the scoring board. In her last attempt, the Vietnamese player was held to a draw with the US opponent Jia Dan, finishing second with 15 points, 2 points less than winner Tang Dan.

In the men’s singles, Wang Tian Yi of China took the trophy with 16 points from 9 games. Vietnamese player Uong Duong Bac finished fourth and his team mate To That Nhat Tan was placed 9th among 12 competitors.

In the men’s team, China won the gold medal, followed by Macau (China) and Vietnam.

Hot shot Hoang Xuan Vinh sets national air pistol record

Military marksman Hoang Xuan Vinh set a new record at the National Shooting Championships yesterday in Ha Noi.

The Olympian shot 202.5 points in the men's 10m air pistol event, passing the old record of 200.8 points that he set this year at the World Cup in April.

His teammate Ho Thanh Hai came second and Hai Duong's Tran Quoc Cuong finished third.

In the men's 50m rifle event, Ha Noi's Vu Thanh Hung took a gold medal, shooting 690.1.

The host team later pocketed their second gold of the day by national team member Dang Hong Ha in the women's 10m running target rifle category.

Ha finished first with 376 points, followed by Nguyen Thi Thu Hang from the Military (366) and Nguyen Thi Le Quyen of Hai Phong (361).

The national championships will wrap-up on October 30.

U19 Vietnam to train at Arsenal

U19 Vietnam will have a six-month long training course at Arsenal FC to prepare for the U19 Asian Football Championship 2014 in Myanmar.

Manager Doan Nguyen Duc of Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC that houses Arsenal-style HAGL JMG football academy contacted Arsenal FC for support, and the English Premiership FC had accepted the request.

The squad will leave for Arsenal after enjoying the traditional lunar New Year (Tet) festival under the guidance of French expert Guilleme Graechen.

Graechen led the squad to a 5-1 historic victory over their Australian opponents at a Group F qualifying match.

Young Vietnamese players will have the chance to train at a European sport centre equipped with modern facilities and play friendlies with others from Arsenal’s training centres across the globe.

After the training, U19 Vietnam players will return home and participate in an international friendly tournament which will include representatives from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Europe and South America.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) says the tournament will take place one or two months before the U19 AFC Championship in Myanmar due to start in October 2014.

Vietnam expects to host the U19 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup in August 2014 and this will be a real test for the national squad before flying to Myanmar for the AFC Championship.

At the recent U19 AFF Cup in Indonesia, Vietnam lost to hosts in the final match after a penalty shootout.

U23s grab last-gasp draw in BTV Cup opening fixture

Viet Nam's U23s shared the points with Semen Padang FC in their first Group B match at the Binh Duong Television Football Cup on Saturday in Binh Duong Province.

The Vietnamese side rescued a point with a 2-2 draw after their Indonesian rivals took the lead on 12 minutes through striker Vendry.

Hoang Thien levelled the match, but Vendry struck again to restore Padang's lead before Manh Hung scored to level in the 55th minute to claim a point.

Today, the U23s will play Dong Nai.

Ha Noi Tiger street football tournament kicks off

The Tiger Street Football 2013 Ha Noi zone qualification will take place today at the Vincom Megamall-Royal City.

This tournament has attracted 32 teams, who will compete in a knock-out format with two six-minute halves for each match.

The prize for the first place is VND45 million (US$2,100), while second will get VND25 million and third VND15 million.

The best team will be the Northern region's representative at the national tournament, which will be held in HCM City next month.