Hung Vuong An Giang dissolved

Hung Vuong An Giang have been dissolved after their relegation from V-League to V-League 2 this season.

The decision was attributed to shortage of funds as both the An Giang Province and sponsor Hung Vuong An Giang Company failed to collect enough funds to cover the VND40 billion (US$1,900,000) needed to support the club.

Following an agreement, the province had agreed to contribute VND15 billion ($714,000), the An Giang Culture, Sports and Tourism Department VND4 billion ($190,400), while Hung Vuong An Giang was supposed to contribute the rest of the amount.

However, when the 2013-14 season ended last month, the company owed about VND10,8 billion ($514,000), leading to a situation that no salary or bonus could be paid to the players.

An Giang was promoted to the national premier league in 2013 after a 16-year wait. However, they could stay in V-League for only one year and were forced to return to the lower league due to their poor performance. They were at the bottom of the table with only 12 points after 22 matches.

Vietnam, Japan enter AFF Cup semi-finals

Vietnam and Japan will play at the semi-finals of the U19 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Youth Championship – Nutifood Cup after they defeated Australia in the Group B matches on September 5 and September 7, respectively.

The two teams will compete for the first place of Group B in a match on September 9.

Coach Graechen of Vietnam said his team will try its best to play with Japan, which is considered a powerful team and is playing on a higher level than ASEAN, during this match.

At the AFF U19 Cup 2013, host Indonesia won the championship and Vietnam secured the second place.

U23s head to Incheon

The national U23 team yesterday (Monday) left for Incheon, South Korea, to participate in the Asian Games (ASIAD).

The 20-member-strong squad under Japanese coach Toshiya Miura will kick off their Group H match at ASIAD on September 15 against Iran, who were placed fourth at the Guangzhou ASIAD four years ago.

Viet Nam's second match is against Kyrgyzstan three days later.

Miura and his team expect to repeat their outstanding performance four years ago when they entered the last-16 round.

Ha Noi Open begins this week

The second Ha Noi Badminton Championships, the ASTEC Cup, will be held from September 11 to 14 at the Cau Giay Gymnasium.

Nearly 530 players will take part in the women's and men's singles and doubles events.

Speaking to the press in the capital last Friday, Tran Quang Giao, deputy chairman of the Ha Noi Badminton Federation, said that the tournament is an opportunity for both professional and amateur athletes to sharpen their skills, while the organisers expected to discover new talents.

The opening and closing ceremonies of the tournament will be broadcast live on The Thao TV channel of the Viet Nam Cable Television.

Viet Nam to avenge U19 loss to Japan

Japan's 4-3 win over Australia on Sunday has pushed the winner and hosts Viet Nam to the semi-final round of the Ha Noi's ASEAN Football Federation U19 Nutifood Cup.

Japan and Viet Nam, who shared top ranking in Group B after securing one win each, will meet each other during the second round match at the My Dinh National Studium at 7pm tonight. It will be aired live on VTV6 and VTV6HD channels.

Guillaume Graechen said the match against Japan was not strategically important because Viet Nam had already qualified for the next round.

The match will merely decide which team will top the group, but Viet Nam aim to dish out their best performance to please spectators with a beautiful game, Graechen added.

He noted that all players were in tip-top shape and wanted a win to avenge their 0-7 loss during a friendly international tournament earlier this year.

So far, only scant information about the team, now based at Thang Loi Hotel, has been released, and media access to all players and team officials has been limited.

Suzuki Masakazu, 59, coach of the Japanese team, said Viet Nam had shown much improvement in both speed and technique from about eight months ago.

He added that the tournament was an opportunity for his players to test their ability ahead of the finals of the Asian U19 Football Championships.

Though it has qualified for the next round as well, Japan is expected to flash its best form against the hosts to secure the top spot in Group B.

Masakazu said he was impressed with some players from Viet Nam, and his team had to find a way to neutralise them while maintaining the Japanese playing style to achieve the best results.

The coach cited his team's fighting spirit and its strength in defence as factors favouring victory. He admitted that some personal mistakes had led to regrettable losses for them, but these would be solved before the match with Viet Nam.

The outstanding performance of young athletes have attracted young Vietnamese fans, who formed a line half-a-kilometre long in front of the Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) Building since early yesterday morning to buy tickets to the game.

Hoang Viet Linh from Quang Ninh Province said he caught a bus to the capital city and was at the VFF Building since 3am, when he saw at least 100 fans lined up to buy tickets.

He also sought his employer's permission to take two days off, one to buy the ticket and the other to watch the game, if he was lucky enough to get a ticket.

Nguyen Thi Kieu Diem from Tay Son town had accompanied her husband at the line since 4am. She had to pay VND500,000 (US$23) for two tickets to the match between Viet Nam and Australia last week.

The mother-to-be hoped that this time, as an early bird, she could buy the tickets at the right price of VND80,000 (nearly $4) each.

Sau wins in Laguna golf tournament

Ton Duc Sau scored a total of 69 points to emerge as champion of the Laguna Park Classic tournament on Saturday.

Sau, who won the Laguna Lang Co Golf Club Championship in May, bested nearly 80 Vietnamese golfers in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Viet Nam to clinch the championship.

Nguyen Ngoc Thien came in second and Do Duy Lien ranked third.

Hanoi, People’s Public Security crowned team champions

The Hanoi and People’s Public Security teams were crowned men’s and women’s team champions of the 32nd Nhan Dan Newspaper National Table Tennis Championships, following their respective victories against Petrosetco Ho Chi Minh City and the Army team in their final matches on September 8.

Tran Tuan Quynh gave Hanoi a sweet start with his 3-1 first-game win over Petrosetco’s Nguyen Thanh Luan.

Dao Duy Hoang equalised the score after edging out Hanoi’s Nguyen Anh Tu 3-2 in the second match, but only to see Phan Huy Hoang restore Hanoi’s lead with a third-game 3-1 victory against To Duc Hoang.

Duy Hoang again lit up Petrosetco’s hope as he managed to beat experienced Tuan Quynh 3-1 in the fourth game and level the score 2-2. However, Anh Tu extinguished Petrosetco’s efforts at resurgence by claiming the decisive match against Thanh Luan to secure Hanoi an overall 3-2 victory.

The People’s Public Security team overcame the Army team 3-2 in a dramatic finals clash yesterday and claimed this year’s women’s team championship title. Their first victories came from Phan Hoang Tuong Giang against Luong Thi Tam and Vu Thi Ha, and the remaining win by Nguyen Thi Viet Linh against Luong Thi Tam.

On the same day, Army pair Luong Tien Dat and Duong Thi Mai, beat teammates Bui The Nghia – Bui Dieu Linh 3-1 in the mixed doubles semifinals to set up a finals clash, scheduled for tonight. The pair will face Dao Duy Hoang (Petrosetco) and Phan Hoang Tuong Giang (People’s Public Security), who crushed Nguyen Ngoc Yen Nhi (Petrosetco) and Tran Hoai Nam (HCM City) 3-1 in the other semifinals.