Lam and Thanh secure silver in xiangqi

Nguyen Hoang Lam and Cao Phuong Thanh won silver medals in the xiangqi (Chinese chess) event at the SportAccord World Mind Games in Beijing, China yesterday, Dec 19.

Cao Phuong Thanh (right). (Photo: Internet)

China's Wang Tianyi won the gold medal in the men's event. The runners-up were Asian and national champion Lam and Hong Kong's Chan Chun Kit.

Meanwhile, in the women's category the gold medal went to the hosts' Chen Lichun. The silver and bronze medals were won by Viet Nam's national champion Thanh and Jia Dan of the US.

Last year in Beijing Viet Nam pocketed a silver medal in the women's xiangqi event thanks to master Ngo Lan Huong.

The event comprises of the five major mind sports: chess, bridge, go, draughts and xiangqi. This year more than 150 of the world's top players from 39 countries took part.

Sharpshooter Merlo trains for comeback

Argentine striker Gaston Sebastian Merlo is eager to get back on track with SHB Da Nang team after a five-month injury lay-off in Argentina.

He began training with the team at Chi Lang Stadium again last week in the hope of securing a new contract for next year's V-League.

The goal poacher, who has scored a total of 68 goals for Da Nang since 2008, has recovered 80 per cent of his fitness after a knee ligament operation.

"I'm ready to play now. It's the worst injury I've sustained in the four years I've played for Da Nang. The team doctor, Ruben Araguas, has given me the all clear to resume training," Merlo said.

"I've started running and training again with my teammates. However, I need time to fully assess my recovery before the new season starts," he said.

Managing director of SHB Da Nang, Bui Xuan Hoa, said they were ready to sign a new contract with Merlo.

"We are in negotiations with Merlo. If he passes a medical and recovers fully, we hope to set him up on a new contract soon," Hoa told Viet Nam News yesterday.

A source said Merlo's agent was asking for VND6 billion (US$285,000) per year for his client.

However, the 27-year-old striker refused to confirm the amount, but said that he wanted to continue playing for Da Nang.

Merlo has fallen in love with the football-crazy city of Da Nang since he sarted playing for them in 2009. In his debut season, he scored 15 goals to help Da Nang win the V-League after a 17-year wait.

He was also honoured with the Best Foreign Footballer Award as well as Top Goal Scorer in the V-League for the past three years, and won the National Cup with his team in 2009.

"Da Nang is like my second home. I enjoy everything here – the people, football, climate and an easy life. I have experienced success with the team and earn a comfortable living from football," he said.

Team VN braced for Winter Games inauguration in S Korea

Viet Nam will debut at the 2013 PyeongChang Special Olympics World Winter Games for people with intellectual disabilities in PeyongChang, South Korea.

The nation will be represented by 13-year-old Hoang Van Cuong and 20-year-old Nguyen Ngoc Bao Tram.
They will compete in snow shoeing events.

Other countries to debut at the Games (fromJanuary 29 to February 5) are Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea.

The event organisers will provide financial aid to all debutants for accommodation, travel, uniforms and equipment.

The tournament is an occasion for 2,300 athletes with intellectual disabilities from more than 110 countries to compete in an atmosphere of acceptance and dignity – showing how they can, through sports, bring justice, build acceptance, foster inclusion and change the world.

They will compete in seven events including alpine skiing, cross country skiing, snow boarding, snow shoeing, speed skating, figure skating and floor hockey.

491 taekwondo athletes compete in RoK Ambassador’s Cup

The national tournament for the country’s elite taekwondo clubs, known as the 2012 Republic of Korea (RoK) Ambassador’s Cup, opened in Hanoi’s Cau Giay competition hall on December 19.

Vu Xuan Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation, said the tourney aims to mark 20 years of Vietnam-RoK diplomatic ties and select the best athletes for the national taekwondo team in preparation for international tournaments.

The event has attracted 271 male and 220 female taekwondo athletes from 59 taekwondo clubs over the country.
They are scheduled to compete in 32 combat events and 13 demonstration events. Athletes ages from 13-16 are divided into 16 categories: boys from 45kg to 68kg and girls from 42kg to 59kg.

Athletes ages above 17 are grouped into 16 categories: men from 54kg to 87kg, women from 46kg to 73kg.

Thanh said athletes ages from 13 to 16 will be chosen for the Olympic Games 2014, and Asian Games 2019 hosted by Vietnam. While athletes ages above 17 will play a core role in Vietnam’s preparations for SEA Games 2013 and ASIAD 2014.

At the opening ceremony, Vietnam’s national taekwondo team had a friendly match with the Kukkiwwon team from the RoK. They will have another friendly match with another team from the RoK’s Keimyung University later.

The RoK Ambassador’s Cup will last through to December 24.

Liem set for Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival

Vietnamese top chess player Le Quang Liem will compete in the prestigious Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival which takes place in England on January 21-31.

More big names have joined this event such as Ukrainian Grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk who is currently ranked No 11 in the world; Gata Kamsky of the US who has an Elo (the measurement used to compare players' abilities) rating of 2755; Radoslaw Wojtaszek of Poland, Elo 2733; Mickey Adams of England, Elo 2720); and Alexei Shirov of Lativa, Elo 2718.

The two-time Aeroflot Open champion Liem has an ELo rating of 2705, meaning spectators can expect a closely-fought contest between these master tacticians.

The event will help Liem prepare for other major international chess tournaments as he aims to make his mark on 2013.

VNN/VNS/VOV