Nam jumps 281 spots in world tennis rankings

Rising tennis star Ly Hoang Nam has moved up 281 spots to number 1,569 in the men's senior world rankings, the Association of Tennis Professionals announced on Monday.

Seventeen-year-old Nam made it to the second round at the recent Thailand F9 Futures, which is part of the Men's Futures tournaments of the International Tennis Federation.

Nam's highest ranking so far had been the 1,718th place.

The new ranking is a huge achievement for Nam, who is seeded No 66 in world junior rankings and is set to compete in upcoming events.

National swimming champions smash records in Ha Noi

Five new national records were set on day two of the National Junior Swimming and Finswimming Championship in Ha Noi yesterday.

Nguyen Diep Phuong Tram beat the U13 girls' 50m butterfly record by .06 second at the Aquatic Sports Palace in the National Sports Complex with a time of 28.35 seconds.

In an outstanding performance, Tran Thi Hong Cam smashed the U13 girls' 400m freestyle record of 4:39.97 with a new time of 4:35.54.

The event saw three other previous records cracked.

Tran Tan Trieu stormed the U16 boys' 800m freestyle event with a time of 8:35.66, while Lam Quang Nhut broke the U17 boys' 800m freestyle record with a time of 8:31.08. Phan Gia Man took out the U18 boys' 800m freestyle with a new record of 8:33.87.

HCM City consolidated their lead after the two days with 11 gold medals. Long An were runner-up with six golds, while National Defence Sports Centre 5 came in third on five titles.

Vietnamese chess masters to compete in int'l championship

Viet Nam will defend their title at the Asian Junior U20 Chess Championships in Yemen in August.

All eyes will be on Women's International Master (WIM) Vo Thi Kim Phung as she is the defending champion in both the standard chess and blitz chess categories.

The girl from Hue City will be supported by WIM Nguyen Thi Mai Hung, who won a bronze medal last year.

Two months later, the Vietnamese players will compete at the World Junior U20 Championships in Pune, India.

In other news, the National Junior Chinese Chess Championships is scheduled to kick off in Hue City from July 26 to August 3.

Athletes will compete across U19, U18, U15, U13 and U11 age groups in the standard and rapid events.

Thanh Hoa coach Chung resigns

Thanh Hoa coach Mai Duc Chung has resigned after his team's loss to Dong Tam Long An 2-0 in the 21st round of the V-League over the weekend.

"At present Thanh Hoa's result is passable. I feel rather tired so I want to stop coaching to do other work," said former national coach Chung.

However, according to a source, Chung's resignation was due to differences in opinion over the contract with the Thanh Hoa club.

Chung helped Thanh Hoa finish fifth in last year's football season, the best result the club has achieved since it started playing in the V-League.

Chung continued to display his skills by helping Thanh Hoa to take the lead in the tournament's first leg this year. The team currently ranks third with 36 points after 21 rounds.

His assistant Thanh Tung will lead the team for a temporary period.

National junior Pencak Silat champs kick off

More than 400 athletes from 26 delegations nationwide are competing at the 2014 National Junior Pencak Silat Championships, which opened in the northern province of Son La on July 22.

They are divided in three age groups of 12-14, 15-17, and 18-20. Competitors in the 12-14 age group are playing in 20 events, while those in the 15-17 and 18-20 groups are competing in 26 and 24 events, respectively.

This gives local Pencak Silat athletes a good chance to improve their professional skills and gain more experience in preparation for regional and international tournaments. The best players will be selected for the national team.

Vietnam win six gold medals at Thai Open Karatedo Championship

Vietnamese martial arts fighters won six gold medals at the fourth Thailand Open Karatedo Championship 2014, which ended in Bangkok on July 21.

The gold medals were won by Bui Ngoc Han (women's 61-kilogramme category), Lang ThiHoa (women's 68-kilogramme category), Nguyen

ThanhDuy (men's 60-kilogramme category), Nguyen Van Nhat (men's 67-kilogramme category), Nguyen Minh Phung (men's 84-kilogramme category) and the women's kumite team.

Thailand A team won the overall title with 17 gold, 19 silver and 20 bronze medals, while Iran came second with 12 gold, nine silver and three bronze medals. Thailand B came third with eight gold medals.

More than 130 athletes from 14 countries took part in the three-day tournament.

BBGV's football tournament raises VND70 million for charity

The 1st Inter-Company Football Tournament, organised by the British Business Group Viet Nam (BBGV) on Saturday, raised VND70 million (US$3,300), which will be distributed to Vietnamese charities.

RMIT University was the overall champion of the tournament, earning the title "Winner of the Championship League". The runner-up position in the Champions League went to ANZ. Cushman and Waskfield placed first and Etihad Airways second in the Euro-Asia Division.

The top goal scorer in the tournament scoring five goals was Dang Hoang Dai from RMIT University who won two free Etihad Airline tickets to Europe.

Sixteen teams played in the one-day event.