Truong Son wins HDBank Chess Cup

Truong Son (right) at the HDBank Chess Cup.

Grandmaster Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son for the first time won the HDBank International Open Chess Tournament, which wrapped up in HCM City on Saturday.

Son, of Viet Nam, had an outstanding competition with five wins and four draws, pocketing seven points after nine matches. His turning point was a victory over defending champion and teammate GM Le Quang Liem in the sixth match.

In the last game, Son drew with former champion Ni Hua of China after 23 moves. A draw result was enough to push him to the top podium of the four-year-old tournament.

Having as many points as the winner, GM Zhing Zhong of Singapore and Liem ranked second and third, respectively.

In the women's draw, Muminova Nafisa of Uzbekistan took the crown with 5.5 points, followed by Sukandar Kharisma from Indonesia and local girl Hoang Thi Nhu Y.

Local young footballers to meet Chelsea FC stars

Four Vietnamese kids have been selected to visit English Premier League Chelsea FC and meet their three football stars in May.

Nguyen Tien Ba, Huynh Duc Hoang, Le Minh Nhat and Nguyen Hoai Thong beat 186 other candidates to join a Samsung-sponsored summer camp in London where they will have the chance to play with Fernando Torres, Eden Hazard, and John Terry of Chelsea.

The talents, aged between 9 and 14, have displayed a great passion for football and a high level of self motivation.

They were chosen from a two-day training camp in HCM City on March 15-16 under guidance of five Chelsea coaches.

The four players will participate in a summer camp entitled “Dream The Blues” with other kids from China, Colombia and Russia.

They are allowed to be accompanied by one of their parents.

Viet Nam's Asian Beach Games sporting list announced

Viet Nam and the Olympic Council of Asia have decided that Asian Beach Games 5 to be hosted by Viet Nam in June 2016, will feature 19 events.

Nha Trang City in Khanh Hoa Province will host 12 events – sepak takraw, volleyball, handball, woodball, jetski, wrestling, kabaddi, 3-on-3 basketball, body building, athletics, foot volley and pentaque.

The coastal town of Mui Ne in Binh Thuan Province will hold dragon boat races, windsurfing and sailing.

Shuttlecock, aquatics, martial arts and football will be held in Da Nang City.

About 2,500 athletes and coaches from 45 nations are expected to participate in the Games which are a multi-sport event to be held every two years among athletes around Asia.

Red-hot Anjembe brings Gia Lai a key home win

Nigerian striker Timothy Anjembe helped Hoang Anh Gia Lai dominate An Giang in the eighth round of the national V-League championship on home turf yesterday.

The win carried the Central Highlands province team to fifth place on the leader board with 11 points after seven matches.

An Giang remained at the bottom with only one point from seven games.

In another match played yesterday, Becamex Binh Duong crushed QNK Quang Nam 5-2 to take fourth place.

On Saturday, Dong Tam Long An were locked into a 1-1 draw by Dong Nai, while Quang Ninh went down 3-0 to visiting team Hai Phong.

Thanh Hoa, who did not play yesterday, lead the table with 19 points, five points ahead of runners-up Quang Ninh. Hai Phong leapt to the third place with 12 points.

Hosts Hoang Anh Gia Lai surprised in the game against newcomers An Giang in a good weather in the Central Highlands region. However, the host had to wait until the 28th minute to attack the goal, with Nigerian Felix Ogbuke launching a shot that skimmed the bar.

The host team's duo Felix and Timothy failed to break An Giang's defence to open the score in the first half.

Three minutes after the break, Hoang Thien netted the ball for Gia Lai, but was caught offside.

Goalie Minh Nhat of An Giang showed fine form, launching powerful shots from Felix and Timothy.

However, Nhat could not save Timothy's finish in the 78th minute when the Nigerian striker skillfully netted the ball.

Felix failed to convert an opportunity in the 84th minute with a shot clearing the post.

A minute from the final whistle, Timothy netted his second goal of the match with a free header, leading the V-League's top scorer list with nine goals of the season.

The championship will resume next Saturday, where An Giang is due to Da Nang and Thanh Hoa will face Quang Nam on home turf. In other matches, Song Lam Nghe An will take on Hai Phong, with Quang Ninh to face off with Ha Noi T&T.

Dong Nai will compete against Hoang Anh Gia Lai on Sunday.

Ciputra badminton tournament begins on March 25

 The Ciputra Ha Noi – Yonex Sunrise Viet Nam International Challenge will be held from March 25 to 30 at the capital city's Cau Giay Gymnasium.

The annual event, which has been endorsed by the Badminton World Federation and the Badminton Asia Confederation, will be organised in five categories for the men's and women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches.

The winners will walk away with a total prize money of US$15,000. 

Asian juniors Champs to kick off

The International Tennis Federation's Asia14 & Under Development Championships 2014 Division 1 will begin in HCM City today.

At the tournament for both boys and girls, as many as 78 athletes from 16 countries and territories have registered to compete.

Viet Nam are being represented by five boys and five girls, under coach Lam Quang Tri.

Participants will compete in boys' and girls' singles and doubles categories.

The Viet Nam Tennis Federation considers this tournament to be a warm-up for the Vietnamese competitors prior to the Asian U14 event, to be held in New Delhi, India, next month.

Thai Son Nam defend futsal title

Thai Son Nam have defended their title at the National Futsal Championship, after beating Sanatech Khanh Hoa 5-2 in the final in HCM City on Saturday.

Visitors Khanh Hoa played better in the first 10 minutes, but they unexpectedly allowed a goal at the 12th minute by Tran Van Vu, who shot into an empty net.

Trong Luan scored a double during the next two minutes, when Khanh Hoa had not recovered from the opening goal. Captain Bao Quan made it 4-0 in the first half's last second.

Thanh Phong and Minh Nhat narrowed the result for the visiting team, but that was all they could do before a fifth goal was scored by Quynh Toan.

It was Thai Son Nam's fifth champion trophy, which they won three years in a row since 2012. They will be Viet Nam's representative at the Asian Futsal Club Championship next month, also in HCM City.

Aikido performance celebrates Vietnam-Japan relations

Hanoi hosted the 2014 Aikido training and performance programme on March 14 as part of activities to mark the 41st anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties.

Attendees included over 200 martial artists, instructors and coaches from Hanoi and a number of provinces along with Japan’s famous martial artist Hiroyuki Sakura.

Apart from offering training courses, Hiroyuki Sakura touted his special techniques to the delight of visitors.

Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Ueshiba Morihei in the 1883-1969 period. It first migrated to Vietnam over 50 years ago.

At present, Aikido has been taught in Hanoi, HCM City, An Giang, Khanh Hoa, Da Nang, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria Vung Tau and Lam Dong. Hanoi now has ten Aikido clubs with the involvement of 2,000 martialists.

The event was co-organised by Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Hanoi Aikido Association with the support of the World Hombu Doju Association, the Japanese embassy and the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association.

The program will close on March 16.

Local bike racer wins Biwase Cup 2014

Nguyen Thi That from the Mekong Delta An Giang province won the yellow jersey in the fourth International Women’s Cycling Tournament (Biwase Cup 2014), which concluded in Binh Duong province on March 14.

Despite her third place in the final 93km stage, That, a member of Vietnam’s national cycling team from An Giang province, claimed victory overall with a total time of 18hrs 5’16”.  

Her Thai opponent Jutatip Maneephan, who competed with That for the championship title, came in second, with 18 seconds less than the Vietnamese champion.

That’s teammate Tran Thi Phuong Trang, also from An Giang province, finished third, clocking 18hrs5’38’’.

In the team’s category, Domesco Dong Thap 2 were placed first, followed by Thailand and a local team from Binh Duong.

Young cycler Truong Thi Bich Nhien won the white jersey for her most outstanding performance, while Japanese racer Hiromi Kaneko was honoured for her natural beauty.

This year’s Biwase Cup, which took place from March 7-14, attracted more than 70 racers, including those from Japan, Thailand and Malaysia.