Injured Thanh to miss friendly match against Hong Kong

Dinh Tien Thanh, the U23 midfielder, will miss a friendly match against Hong Kong this Saturday because of a sprained ankle.

Although Thanh has already recovered from the sprain, he will not be ready yet by the time the match takes place at the Lach Trach Stadium in Hai Phong City.

Thanh, member of V-League's Hai Phong side, suffered the injury last week during a clash with a teammate in training.

He has returned to training for two days with specific exercises for his injury and is expected to return to active duty on the team soon.

The U23s, who defeated V-League 2's Ha Noi FC 3-0 on Saturday, will have a match against the national team in Ha Noi tomorrow before travelling to Hai Phong.

Coach Toshiya Miura will then shortlist the team with 20 players before leaving for the Incheon Asian Games on September 8.

VN runners triumph at marathon

Vietnamese Tran Van Loi won the men's category in the Da Nang International Marathon on Sunday, beating teammates Hoang Nguyen Thanh and Nguyen Van Long after nearly three hours.

In the women's draw, Hoang Thi Thanh of the Army team finished first, ahead of Lam Thi Thuy and Anette Axelsen from Denmark.

In the half-marathon, Vietnamese Do Quoc Luat and Phung Thi Hang won the men's and women's titles, respectively.

The event attracted 4,000 runners competing in the men's and women's marathon, half-marathon and 5km Fun Run categories. It was the second time that the race was organised by the central city.

Boat race, show mark National Day

The 22-member team of Nai Hien Dong won the men's 7.5km Traditional Boat Race in the Han River yesterday, while the women's team from Hai Chau District won the 5km race.

The races, organised every year to celebrate National Day, drew the participation of 200 paddlers from 14 men's and women's teams in Da Nang, Quang Nam and Quang Tri province.

A water-skiing event also took place in the river yesterday and a guitar, saxophone, flamenco and rock performance was organised on the Han River Stage, near Han Market on Bach Dang Street.

Karate team earn medals in Japan

Karate martial artists bagged a silver medal and two bronze medals at the Karate1 Premier League held in Okinawa, Japan on Sunday.

The trio of Do Ha Mi, Do Thi Thu Ha and Nguyen Thi Hang failed to beat hosts Kashioka Suzuka, Kimura Yoko and Morioka Muki in the women's team kata (performance) event.

Earlier, former world champion Nguyen Hoang Ngan placed third in the women's individual kata, and Nguyen Van Nhat likewise placed third in the men's 67kg kumite (combat) class. After two days of competition, Viet Nam placed fifth, with Japan, Iran and France on top.

Minh passes first hurdle at Vietnam Open

Vietnamese badminton ace Nguyen Tien Minh shrugged off Thai Thammasin Sitthikom's confidence and determination in the first set to claim the match in straight sets.

The victory gave Viet Nam's No 1 player a place in the second round at the Yonex Sunrise Viet Nam GP Open 2014 at the Phan Dinh Phung Indoor Stadium in HCM City and kept him on track to win a record five titles.

Minh, seeded only third at the tournament after falling sharply to 30th place in the world rankings, will face Mahbub Thomi Azizan of Indonesia in the second round today. Azizan beat Vietnamese Nguyen Dinh Tuan Kiet 21-13, 21-15 in the first round.

The 31-year-old seemed to have not yet recovered from his long flight back from the World Badminton Championship in Denmark, where he failed to defend his bronze medal following an exit at the third round. He had a rusty start, trailing early in the first set. Unseeded Sitthikom looked composed and confident in the early stages of the first set and led throughout most of the set.

However, Minh, who did not expect a tough match, tied the score 15-15 by stepping up his efforts. Upping his game with quick shots and powerful smashes, the Vietnamese player won four successive points to lead 19-15. Sitthikom pulled back two points before hitting the shuttle out to surrender the set at 21-17.

The second half was the complete opposite, with Minh claiming the set at 21-7 after just half of the time he needed to beat the opponent in the first set.

It was a set showcasing Minh's typical playing style with quick shots, quick movements and lightning powerful smashes. Sitthikom was unable to maintain his accuracy.

Minh's potential semi-final opponent, top seed Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka from Indonesia, proved his title credibility by making light work of his first round with a crushing 21-10, 21-5 win over Malaysian Wei Jian Ai.

Other seeded players, Ajay Jayaram of India and Mohammad Arif Abdul Latif of Malaysia, also had their names on the list for the second round. 

Local bike racers train in RoK prior to ASIAD 17

Four Vietnamese cyclists are participating in a training camp in the Republic of Korea (RoK) in preparation for the 2014 Asian Games (ASIAD 17), which are to open in Incheon on September 19.

The cyclists–Nguyen Thi That, Ngoc Trang, Nguyen Thi Thi, and Phan Thi Lieu–are ambitiously training four hours in the morning and another four hours in the afternoon.

This is important training for the racers as they hone their professional skills for competition at the continent’s largest sporting event.

After the training camp, Nguyen Thi Thi and Phan Thi Lieu are going to fly home, while Nguyen Thi That and Ngoc Trang will stay in the RoK for ASIAD 17.

Vietnam second in world Xiangqi champs

Vietnam won a silver medal at the World Xiangqi (Chinese chess) Team Championships which concluded in Germany over the weekend.

Scoring 33 points after five wins and two draws, Vietnam placed second behind powerhouse China.The Vietnamese women’s team ranked fifth with three wins and two losses.

Hercules Mach fails to defend Asian title

World champion Pham Van Mach on August 29 failed in his bid for a record ninth title at the 48th Asia Bodybuilding Championships & Congress ongoing in Macau, China from Aug 29-31.

Mach came up short this year, only managing to pull out a second place finish and a silver medal in the 60kg weight category.  He had claimed his first eight titles at the tournament in the strength-men’s 55kg event.

Overall, Vietnam bagged three gold and three silver medals on the first day of competition. Top positions went to Nguyen Van Lam (men’s 65kg), Dinh Kim Loan (women’s 49kg), and Tran Thi Cam Tu (women’s 1.55m fitness).

More than 600 athletes from nearly 30 countries and territories took part in an international marathon competition in the central city of Danang on August 31.

Of the total, 130 athletes competed in the Marathon category, over 200 in half-Marathon, and nearly 250 in the 5km run.

Vietnamese athletes claimed titles in both Marathon and Half-marathon categories.  Tran Van Loi (male) and Hoang Thi Thanh (female) finished first in the 42.195km Marathon, while Do Quoc Luat (male) and Phung Thi Hang (female) took the lead in the 21.0975km Half-Marathon.

The results of the competition will be recognised by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) and used as a basis for athletes to participate in international Marathons.

AIMS vice president Dave Cundy said the Danang competition meets international Marathon standards, and he hoped the 2015 event will attract thousands of athletes worldwide.

Danang authorities said the 2014 competition is a golden chance for the city to promote it as an attractive tourist destination, with hospitable people, beautiful scenery and exotic beaches.

VOV/VNS