Elite swimmers train abroad

Quy Phuoc.

Vietnam’s top swimmer Quy Phuoc and Anh Vien will join overseas training, with a view to clinching gold at the coming 2014 Asian Games (ASIAD) in the Republic of Korea.

Quy Phuoc is due to fly to Nanning (China) for an intensive three-week training course with Guo Rui Shan, who previously coached and contributed to the success of other Vietnamese swimmers Pham Thanh Nguyen, Nguyen Van Ty and Anh Vien.

Quy will also take part in a Chinese swimming tournament to hone his professional skills in the 25m event before competing at ASIAD 2014 in Incheon, the Republic of Korea.

Another gold medal hopeful, Anh Vien, will train in the US for two months before attending ASIAD 2014.

Earlier on February 14, Anh Vien secured second place at the women’s mix 400m event at the Orlando Grand Prix in the US, ranking just below the current world defending champion Katinka Hosszu.

Youngsters make good start in U16 tennis tournament

Vietnam’s tennis team overcame Sri Lanka 2-1 in the first match of the Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas B16 for Asia-Pacific region in Kuching, Malaysia, on February 23.

The Vietnamese team attended the tournament with four members including captain and coach Lam Quang Tri, Nguyen Dac Tien, Henry Minh Tri and Nguyen Nhut Hoang.

Last year’s Vietnamese team included Trinh Linh Giang, a player who shot to prominence in 2013 and was then called up to the national team for the Davis Cup tournament.

The U16 team tournament will run until February 28.

Huynh wins men's standard event at chess championship

Lai Ly Huynh of Binh Duong won the men's standard event at the National Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) First Division Championships 2014, which ended in Vung Tau on Sunday.

Meanwhile, HCM City's Ngo Lan Huong took the lead in the women's event.

Earlier, Hanoian Nguyen Thanh Bao won the men's blitz event, while Dam Thi Thuy Dung pocketed the women's title.

The best performers will be selected for the national team to take part in international tournaments this year.

Real Madrid Foundation to hold football training camp

A five-day football training camp for the youth will be conducted by top Spanish football club Real Madrid's Foundation, the first of its kind, in Ha Noi in April.

At the youth soccer clinic, co-organised by the Viet Nam Football Passion Academy, participants between the ages of six and 16 will have a chance to train and play the Real Madrid way.

The clinic will allow the children to experience and learn individual techniques and team tactics as practiced by the youth training at Real Madrid youth academies around the world.

EUFA-certified coaches and qualified assistants will take charge of the programme from April 14 to 18 at the United Nations International School Football field.

A corporate social responsibility component will be featured at the clinic with a group of underprivileged children being given a chance to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for free.

More information and the registration form can be found at www.frmhanoi.com. Seats are limited and will be granted on a first-come-first-served basis.

The Real Madrid Foundation has established its clinics in 45 countries worldwide. The event in April aims to study Viet Nam where the Foundation expects to expand its network.

Amateur cyclists get set for Binh Duong race

The Binh Duong Television Cycling Open-Becamex IDC Cup will kick off in the southern province of Binh Duong from tomorrow and run until December 20.

The tournament has attracted 200 amateur cyclists who will be divided into two age brackets: 16-35 and 36-55.

The event will take place every two months with a total prize pool of VND300 million (US$14,300).

HCM City win opening match

Runner-up HCM City pocketed their first win at the National Women's Football Championship yesterday at Thong Nhat Stadium.

The hosts defeated Ha Noi 2 1-0, jumping to the top place in the ranking table.

Bao Chau scored the only goal at the 21st minute of the second half after wasting many threatening opportunities.

The second round matches will continue today when Mineral Coal Viet Nam faces defending champions Ha Noi 1 and Phong Phu Ha Nam meets TNG Thai Nguyen.

10-man Quang Nam beat Long An

Dong Tam Long An were defeated 0-2 by 10-man Quang Nam in the sixth round match of the V-League on Saturday.

Playing on their home turf without their key players were the main reasons leading to Long An's poor performance.

They suffered their first loss at the 37th minute after Kisekka Henry's solo from the central field.

Even after Quang Nam's midfielder Le Hai Anh was sent off, Long An could not reverse the score, and received the second loss at the 68th by halfback Dinh Thanh Trung.

This was Long An's third loss of the season. After six matches they have not won any games, having earned only three points from three draws and placing at the second-from-bottom position.

Coach Ngo Quang Sang later said he had to take responsibility for the defeat and thought about resigning.

In next round, Long An will face leader Thanh Hoa.

In other matches on Saturday, hosts Hai Phong lost 1-2 to Dong Nai at Lach Tray Stadium.

Da Nang return to winning ways

SHB Da Nang's players held their nerves in the last ten minutes of the match to successfully end their winless run of four matches with a 2-1 victory over Song Lam Nghe An yesterday at Chi Lang Stadium, bringing them into the top four.

The win not only helped Da Nang rise to fourth place, nine points behind third-ranked Ha Noi T&T only on goal difference, but is also a timely boost for coach Le Huynh Duc's team, which have lost one match and drawn three since their 3-1 win over Dong Tam Long An in the opening round.

On the other side of the pitch, it was the third loss for coach Nguyen Huu Thang and his players. Nghe An fell to seventh place with six points.

The first half was boring and poor quality as most of the action took place in the midfield, where players tried to win back the ball from each other. There were almost no clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities created for the whole of the first half.

The only realistic goal-scoring opportunity came in the 36th minute. Doan Hung Son rushed down on the right flank and squared the ball across the front of the goal. Valentic Adrian rushed in to touch the ball from a close range but the ball went wide off the left post.

Duc decided to bring Gaston Merlo, who was not ready to be included in the starting lineup because of injury, to the field. But with only one minute left, Merlo had no impact until two teams left the field goalless at halftime .

The second half was more lively as the Argentinian, who seemed not to be affected by injury, quickly made an impact, providing assistance to two goals for Da Nang in the beginning of the second half.

Da Nang took the lead in the 48th minute as midfielder Nguyen Vu Phong collected a pass from Merlo and paced down towards the box to face Nghe An keeper Tran Nguyen Manh before shoving the ball past Manh into the net.

Just three minutes later, the score was 2-0 for the hosts. Once again Merlo turned the provider as he dribbled past the Nghe An defender to feed Phan Thanh Hung, who skillfully curled home on the edge of the box beyond the reach of Manh into the high corner of the net.

Substitute Ndjodo Edouard pulled back one goal for Nghe An in the 77th minute as he tapped home the rebound resulting from a powerful shot from rising star Tran Phi Son on the edge of the box.

Nghe An flooded forwards in search of the equaliser but a solid defence from Da Nang as well as Nghe An's poor communication in front of the goal left Nghe An going home empty-handed.

It was another unsuccessful match for star striker Le Cong Vinh, who has not scored in the last two games and remains one goal shy of the 100 mark, the record number of goals scored by a local striker in the history of the V-League.

In the remaining matches of the day, V-League newcomers continued extending their unbeaten run to five matches. They came from 2-1 to beat Hoang Anh Gia Lai 3-2 at home.

Nguyen Hai Huy scored a double and Uche Iheruome scored the third for the home team while Timothy Anjembe and Nguyen Hoang Helio were the scorers for Gia Lai.

The victory also helped coach Dinh Cao Nghia's team climb to second place with 11 points after the sixth round.

Meanwhile at Thanh Hoa Stadium, the home team, who have not yet conceded a game, continued extending their excellent form with a 3-1 win over the defending champions Ha Noi T&T, their successive fifth victory, putting them five points clear at the top.

Binh Duong have also been enjoying a renaissance with a 4-1 win over hosts An Giang, their second win in a row, to rank fifth with seven points.

Today the two remaining matches of the sixth round will take place, with Hai Phong hosting Dong Nai and Quang Nam travelling to Long An.

On the second day of the National Women's Football Championship yesterday, Phong Phu Ha Nam beat Viet Nam Coal and Mineral 1-0 in the only match.

Striker Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung scored the only goal to help coach Van Thi Thanh's team take the first three points and rank second behind defending champions Ha Noi 1.

Viettel take charge of Group A at U19 football event

Viettel defeated Quang Ninh Coal 2-1 in the final match of Group A to top the standings with 13 points in the first phase of the National U19 Football Championships qualifiers on Thursday.

Ha Noi T&T finished in second, followed by Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh Coal, Nam Dinh and Hai Phong.

Song Lam Nghe An topped Group B with 10 points after overcoming Hue 1-0, followed by Thanh Hoa, SHB Da Nang, Quang Nam and Hue.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai tied 1-1 with Sanatech Khanh Hoa to head Group C with 10 points ahead of Sanatech Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, HCM City and Tay Ninh.

Binh Duong triumphed in Group D with 12 points after beating Can Tho 3-1, followed by Dong Thap, Long An and Can Tho.

The second phase of the competition will start today, and the top two teams from each group will progress to the next stage.

The final round will take place from March 9-19. 

Dak Nong to host annual VTV-Binh Dien volleyball cup

The 8th VTV-Binh Dien International Women's Volleyball Cup is scheduled to to take place in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong from March 3-11.

The nine-day competition has attracted the participation of five domestic teams: VTV-Binh Dien Long An, LienVietPostBank Information, Vietinbank, Saigon Beer-Vietsopetro and Phu Rieng Rubber. Three foreign invitees are also set to compete, including the Myanmar national volleyball team and China's Shandong and the Shandong University team.

The participants will be competing in a round robin format to decide the top four teams, which will advance into the semi-final round.

The annual event offers nearly US$35,000 in total prize money, with US$15,000 for the winners, US$8,000 for the second-place and US$6,000 for the third-place team.

LienVietPostBank were crowned champions at last year's tournament after beating the Karaganda team from Kazakhstan 3-2 in the final match.