Minh reaches second round of US Open

Top Vietnamese shuttler Nguyen Tien Minh beat American Nicholas Robert Henson Waller in the first round of the 2014 YONEX Suffolk County Community College US Open Championships yesterday.

Olympian Minh overcame his rival 21-4, 21-2 in just 17 minutes.

Other Vietnamese players, however, could not replicate Minh's success. Bao Minh went down 21-8, 21-9 to Ka Long Ng of Hong Kong, while Le Ngoc Nguyen Nhung lost to American Bo Rong 21-11, 21-16 in the women's qualifying round.

Minh, who dropped two places in the latest World Badminton Federation (WBF) rankings, will clash with Indonesia's Chetan Anand in the second round.

According to the latest WBF rankings, Minh, a native of HCM City and a former World No. 5, is ranked 17th with 45,570 points.

Two Vietnamese players make it through at ITF U18 tournament

Nguyen Mau Vinh Quang and Nguyen Thu Phuong were the two remaining host players at the International Tennis Federation U18 tournament yesterday.

Quang came from behind to beat Achad Imam Maruf of Indonesia, the event's No 3 seed, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round match in the boys' singles category.

He will next play Dave Sebastian Mosqueda of the Philippines, who won 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 over wild card holder Tejas Kapoor, also from Indonesia.

His teammate, Huynh Minh Hung, lost 6-3, 6-0 to Toru Horie of Japan.

Also, Nguyen Thu Phuong advanced following her 6-4, 6-4 victory over Indonesian Aisyah Purnama Sargi in the girls' singles.

Phuong will face Chatmanee Junkaew of Thailand in the next round. Junkaew defeated Shrishti Daas of India 6-4, 6-2 in the first round.

Dao Thu Uyen and Dao Minh Trang, the other local players at the tournament, failed to win. While Uyen lost to Eun Se Jang of South Korea in straight sets, Trang performed better, only surrendering after three sets.

None of the Vietnamese players moved ahead to the third round in the doubles events.

In the boys' pool, Nguyen Dac Tien and Trinh Linh Giang was the only local pair to qualify for the second round. But they were later defeated 2-6, 7-5, [10-7] in the next match by Toru Horie and Jeffrey Hsu.

U17 footballers to compete at national championships

The National U17 Football Championship will be organised in Hue City with the participation of eight teams, running from July 16-25.

Defending champions SHB Da Nang and host Thua Thien-Hue automatically receive their berths to the final round, while six others had to be awarded their slots through a tough two-week qualification, which ended on Monday.

Teams are divided into two groups, competing in the round-robin format in the first round.

Two successful candidates from each group will advance to the semi-finals.

PVF, who won all four matches in the qualifier, scoring 20 goals, have been the top title favourite this season.

Last year, PVF came in second after losing to Da Nang in the final match.

Big cash hang for Binh Duong players in V-League

If the thrill of victory isn't enough, Becamex Binh Duong players can also look forward to sharing more than VND5 billion (US$238,000) if they win the V-League title this season, the club managers have announced.

The decision was made after the club jumped to the first position following a big 4-1 win over Hoang Anh Gia Lai on Sunday in their Go Dau Stadium.

The two-time winners now have 39 points, as many as the defending champions Ha Noi T&T who played one match less.

In the last four matches, Binh Duong will play Hung Vuong An Giang and SHB Da Nang on home turf and Quang Nam and Dong Tam Long An on away field.

The winners of the V-League will also enjoy a VND4 billion bonus from the organising board and up to VND1 billion from other sponsors.

Vietnam joins YOG virtual torch relay

Sports officials from the Vietnam Olympic Committee and the Vietnam General Department of Sports and Physical Training joined a virtual torch relay online in Hanoi from 4pm to midnight on July 7 in response to the Nanjing 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG 2), slated for August 16–28.

The 98-day virtual torch relay was kicked off at Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on April 30. The virtual journey is going through 258 online locations in 204 countries and territories around the world, with Vietnam taking part as the 197th position.

The online torch relay has been designed on a mobile app that integrates new media and technologies. The app is accessible in 16 languages such as simplified Chinese, English and French, aiming to spread the Olympic values and noble sportsmanship to young people from every corner of the globe regardless of language, time zone or geographic location.

In its nine-hour sojourn in Vietnam, the virtual torch relay looked to boost the spirit of member athletes of the Vietnam YOG delegation, encouraging them to try their best and bring glory to the homeland.

According to the latest report by the organising board, as many as 13 Vietnamese athletes have qualified for the Nanjing 2014 YOG so far in seven sports: weightlifting, swimming, gymnastics, taekwondo, badminton, rowing and beach volleyball. Besides, three Wushu artists and two Wushu trainers from Vietnam have been invited to perform in activities held on the sidelines of the YOG 2 such as cultural exchanges and camping.

The Vietnam YOG team is expected to feature 25 members including 13 athletes, seven trainers and four officials. It is headed by Director Tran Duc Phan of the High Performance Sports Department.

Becamex Binh Duong usurp Hanoi T&T’s top spot

The 2014 V-League Round 20 on July 6 witnessed Becamex Binh Duong retaking the top spot on the table from Hanoi T&T, as the former thrashed Hoang Anh Gia Lai 4-1, while T&T drew 3-3 with Dong Tam Long An.

Binh Duong experienced a sudden boom at home during the 90 minutes of play against Gia Lai at Go Dau Stadium.

Against the counterattacking tactics of Hoang Anh Gia Lai, the home team played offensively right from the start. However, it was not until the 23rd minute that the deadlock was broken when Abass converted a penalty to put Binh Duong ahead.

Before the first half ended, the home side had doubled their lead with a second spectacular goal by Abass.

Just two minutes into the second half, Gia Lai’s shallow play hurt them. Binh Duong netted two consecutive goals in the 48th and 51st minutes (Suleiman and Trong Hoang) to push the score to 4-0.

Gia Lai only got a consolation goal in the 90th minute by Duc Duong, and suffered a humiliating 1-4 loss.

With the priceless three points, Binh Duong regained the top spot as Hanoi T&T drew 3-3 with Dong Tam Long An in a clash the same day at Hang Day Stadium. Binh Duong and T&T both have 39 points, but the former possesses a better goal difference.

In other matches the same day, An Giang came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Hai Phong, Quang Nam suffered 2-3 loss to Thanh Hoa, SHB Da Nang bagged an away win of 4-3 over Quang Ninh Coal, and Song Lam Nghe An overcame Dong Nai 3-1.