VN to compete in regional U19 football competition

Viet Nam will compete at the Southeast Asian Under-19 Football Championship in Surabaya, Indonesia.

The Vietnamese team, represented by the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Arsenal JMG squad, is in Group B together with Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

In Group A, the Philippines, Australia, East Timor, Singapore and Cambodia will play each other.

The tournament will be organised from September 9-22. Teams will compete in a round-robin format in the group stage. Two top teams will advance to the semi-finals.

Last Vietnamese players out of Asian badminton tourney

There are no Vietnamese competitors remaining at the ongoing Asia Badminton Championships in Chinese Taipei.

The last three representatives were sent home yesterday after losing to their seeded rivals.

Pham Cao Cuong was defeated by Wing Ki Wong of Hong Kong 21-5, 21-12. Nguyen Hoang Nam lost 21-13, 21-12 to Malaysia's Wei Feng Chong and also came second best in the doubles, with him and his partner Duong Bao Duc losing to hotly-tipped Chinese pair Wei Hong and Ye Shen 21-7, 21-8.

Viet Nam's top player Nguyen Tien Minh was surprisingly defeated 16-21, 11-21 by Hong Kong's Chan Yan Kit late on Wednesday.

The finals will take place on Sunday, with the winners set to walk away with US$200,000.

Hai starts third stint as coach of Binh Duong

Coach Le Thuy Hai will take charge of V-League side Becamex Binh Duong for the third time since 2007.

Hai replaces South Korean coach Cho Yoon-hwan who was fired earlier this week. The veteran coach will receive a salary of VND70 million (US$3,300) per month, and is tasked with lifting the team off the bottom of the table.

Binh Duong have suffered five straight losses since the 2013 season started in March, and are rooted to the bottom of the table with no point.

Hai has coached Binh Duong twice before and helped the team to win the national premier league in 2007 and 2008.

He will be assisted by Nguyen Minh Dung, Nguyen Thanh Son and Tran Minh Quang.

In his first match this weekend, Hai and his team will travel north to visit Ninh Binh.

Duan claims second stage win

Le Van Duan pocketed his second stage win at the HCM City Television Cycling Cup yesterday, while the overall ranking did not change.

Duan of Eximbank HCM City completed the 42km stage of 15 laps around Hue's Royal Palace with a time of 1hr 1.29min, clocking an average speed of 45.378km/h.

The short stage saw riders launch consecutive attacks on the lead with sprints during the fifth and tenth laps. Eximbank HCM City proved their power when their rider Duan went ahead in the last 200m and finished first.

Nguyen Thanh Tam and Trinh Duc Tam, both from ADC Vinh Long Television, were second and third, respectively.

Riders finished in a tight pack resulting in unchanged positions in the rankings with Tran Nguyen Minh Tri of Dong Thap Raflis Trivialis on top, on 17:32.50 after sixth stages. His two runners-up were Tran Thanh Dien and Le Thanh Ngoc of Sai Gon Plant Protection.

Duan overcame Le Anh Tuan of Dong Thap Domesco Pharmacy to take the green jersey with 62 points.

On the team side, Sai Gon with two riders in the top three strengthened their top place with a time of 52:37.03.

An Giang were second, only 4.43sec behind. Military Zone 7 were third with a time of 52:42.25.

Racers will rest today to commemorate the founders of the nation, the Hung Kings. Competition will resume tomorrow with a 109km stage from Hue to Da Nang City.

La Rue Cup expects to attract more than 700 teams

More than 700 five-a-side football teams from across the country are expected to take part in the La Rue Cup that will kick off on April 24.

The teams will be divided into zones, with the two top teams advancing to the final round which is scheduled to be held in Da Nang from June 24-30.

The organisers said that more than VND1 billion (US$47,600) in prize money was up for grabs in the sixth edition of the event.-

Wrestlers compete at Asian Champs

The 26th Senior Asian Wrestling Championships opened in New Delhi, India on April 18, attracting 200 athletes from 19 regional countries, including 9 from Vietnam.

Wrestlers are competing in nine weight categories during the five-day tournament.

The tournament will be a big challenge for Vietnamese athletes they are scheduled to clash against strong opponents from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

In the qualifying round on April 18, Vietnam’s wrestler Dang Tien Doi was defeated by the DPRK’s opponent Won Chol Yun in the men’s 55kg category.

Vietnam aims to bag home medals from this event, according to Nguyen The Long, head of the Wrestling Division of the Vietnam Administration of Sports and Physical Training.

Source: VNS/VNA/VOV