U19 Vietnam 4-2 Montverde Academy

Lam Ti Phong’s two goals helped Vietnam secure a 4-2 victory over Montverde Academy of the US in a friendly in Belgium on March 27.

Montverde Academy took the lead, but Lam Ti Phong equalized the scoring when the first half had several minutes to go.

With several substitutions in the second half, Vietnamese players performed better and took control of the match.

It was Lam Ti Phong again who scored the second goal for Vietnam, before Montverde Academy made an equalizer.

Then Xuan Truong produced an impressive performance, extending Vietnam’s lead before substitute Duc Huy completed a 4-2 victory for Vietnam.

This is Vietnam’s first win in Belgium following their first 3-1 loss to JMG Academy global on March 25.

Chief coach Guillaume Graechen said he was satisfied with his players’ performance. He hoped several injured players would recover very soon and join the lineup in the coming matches.

Anh Vien wins another gold medal in the US

Vietnam's “little mermaid” Nguyen Thi Anh Vien secured a gold medal at the ongoing NASA Junior National Championships Cup in Florida, the US.

She won the medal on March 27 in the women’s 200m individual medley in a record setting time of 1:58.

The event, attracting a number of outstanding athletes from various clubs around the world, lasts until March 29.

Meanwhile, an award ceremony aiming to honour outstanding Vietnamese athletes and coaches was held in Hanoi on March 27.

Anh Vien topped the list of top 10, but was absent from the event as she and her coach Dang Anh Tuan are on a training tour in the US.

At the event, the organizing board awarded Creative Youth badges of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union to Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, Le Quang Liem, and Hoang Xuan Vinh.

Dutch Lady helps develop young talent basketball players

The American Professional Basketball League (APBL) has announced that it will officially launch its Junior NBA Programme for young males and females aged 10 yrs – 14 yrs in Vietnam in April.

The programme, sponsored by Dutch Lady, will provide youth the opportunity to work towards future basketball goals by providing training courses and competitions teaching the importance of hard work, education and social responsibility.

Forty young males and 24 females aged 10yrs-14yrs will be selected to attend the national training round from June 13-15 in Ho Chi Minh City based on their aptitudes, techniques and performance manners.

The top 14 players at the national training round will in turn be selected to make the 2014 Jr. NBA star team in Vietnam.

The 2014 Jr. NBA will attend an NBA overseas training course and have the opportunity to meet NBA star athletes and compete with similar teams from other countries in the world later this year.

U19 Vietnam loses to U21 Lierse SK

The U19 Vietnam team lost 1-3 to U21 Lierse S.K. in a friendly match during their European tour in Belgium on March 26.

Van Toan scored the only goal for the Vietnamese side in the 70th minute.

The team is scheduled to meet players from the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy, the US.

The team beat Arsenal 3-0, drew with Wimbledon 2-2, lost to Tottenham Hotspur 9-0 and Birmingham 2-4 in the UK.

After Belgium, they will play other friendly matches in the Netherlands before returning to Vietnam late next month.

Hosts' hopes rest on three survivors

Only three Vietnamese singles players survived after the second day of competition at the Ciputra Hanoi-Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge, yesterday, in Ha Noi.

Tournament's No. 1 seed, Nguyen Tien Minh, is the sole Vietnamese representative in the men's category. The HCM City-born athlete defeated Japanese Yugo Kobayashi 21-13, 21-8 in the third round.

His female teammate, Le Thu Huyen, No. 3 seed, had a difficult win, 21-9, 19-21, 21-17, over Yu Chieh Cheng of Chinese Taipei. The Vietnamese will now face the No. 6 seed Shih Han Hung, another Taipei player in the quarters.

Vu Thi Trang had an easy day yesterday when she pocketed a 21-9, 21-17 victory in only 30 minutes. Her quarterfinal opponent is Shih Ying Chen from Chinese Taipei.

Other matches of the round will be Chinese qualifier Yujing Jiang vs Rusydina Antardayu Riodingin and Malaysian No. 5 seed Sannatasah Saniru vs Hana Ramadhini, No. 2 seed from Indonesia.

Minh, who returned to the annual tournament after a five-year hiatus, took just half an hour to win the match.

In today's quarterfinal round, the World No. 10 will face Christie Jonatan of Indonesia who beat Chinese Taipei's Sheng-jie Yang 21-9, 21-13.

All other top seeds in the men's singles competition also advanced: No. 2 seed Chun Seang Tan of Malaysia, No. 3 seed Tzu Wei Wang and No. 4 seed Chia-Hsin Wan both from Chinese Taipei, except for the No. 5 seed Ka Long Ng of Hong Kong who was sent packing home by the No. 10 seed Ivanudin Rifan Fauzin from Indonesia.

In the doubles category, Viet Nam's Vu Thi Trang and Nguyen Thi Sen, seeded No 3, were the only Vietnamese women's duo remaining in the competition. Yesterday, they trounced Wan Ching Lin and Xiao Min Lin of Chinese Taipei 21-16, 21-14.

Thuy books her place at China Youth Olympics

Vietnamese taekwondo athlete Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy has earned a ticket to compete in the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games in China after winning a silver medal in the girls' 44kg category at a qualifying tournament in Chinese Taipei.

Thuy went down against Panipak Wongphattanakit of Thailand in the final.

Viet Nam has secured five spots in the upcoming Youth Olympics including three for weightlifting, a spot for rowing and for taekwondo.

National beach volleyball event begins in Phu Yen

Da Nang beat hosts Phu Yen in the first match of the women's competition at the National Beach Volleyball Championships that got started yesterday in Tuy Hoa City.

In the men's event, HCM City 1 defeated HCM City 2.

The event has attracted the participation of 64 athletes from 16 men's and 16 women's teams. They have been drawn in eight groups and will compete in a round robin format.

Central city hosts national tennis tournament

Around 170 tennis players from 25 clubs in HCM City, Quang Nam, Ha Noi and Da Nang will compete at the Da Nang Tennis Open today, the city's tennis association has confirmed.

Players will compete in men's and women's doubles competitions for amateurs and professionals. The winners will walk away with cash-prizes of VND30 million each.

The final will be played on Sunday.

V-League strugglers desperate to claim vital three points

Vissai Ninh Binh and Hung Vuong An Giang, who are out-of-form and hungry for points to improve their position, will square off today in the 10th-round match of the V-League.

Ninh Binh have not won since their 3-1 victory over Ha Noi T&T in January, drawing two and losing two in the last four rounds, and are fast falling back to the bottom of the table.

Their opponent and the home team are in an even worse predicament, having lost six games in a row and remain rooted to the bottom since the beginning of the season.

Defending champions Ha Noi T&T will play away against Dong Tam Long An and a win will put the capital-based team in the second place.