Vietnam to play Japan in Asian women's volleyball quarters

Viet Nam will face Japan in the quarter-finals of the Asian Women's Cup Volleyball Championship now ongoing in China.

The Vietnamese team on Monday defeated Iran, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20, 25-20, following two straight losses to South Korea and the hosts the previous day.

Viet Nam now rank third in Group A while Japan are second in Group B.

In their match at the 2012 event in Kazakhstan, Viet Nam nipped Japan, 3-2, to emerge as one of the tournament's top four teams.

Eight teams are competing in the tournament, which will end in Shenzhen City on September 12. Thailand are the defending champion.

Hung, Cuong sign contracts with V-League's Quang Nam

Vietnamese football players Phan Thanh Hung and Cao Cuong have signed up to play for V-League football team Quang Nam after leaving former team SHB Da Nang.

Hung, 27, a midfielder, left Da Nang last month and will play with Quang Nam for three years.

Unconfirmed reports say he will receive about VND2.4 billion (US$38,000) and earn a monthly salary of VND30 million ($1,400) from Quang Nam.

Cuong reportedly signed up for a VND500-million ($23,800) deal.

Quang Nam coach Hoang Van Phuc also hopes to welcome Dao Van Phong from Hai Phong later this month.

Earlier, Quang Nam, who set a VND50-billion ($2.38 million) budget for the coming season, lured strikers Mac Hong Quan and Patiyo Tambwe from Hung Vuong An Giang and Patiyo Tambwe, respectively.

Men’s and women’s table-tennis doubles champions crowned

The men’s doubles finals on September 9 seemed to be an easy match for Army pair, Le Tien Dat and Duong Van Nam, as they hardly broke a sweat to beat Dao Duy Hoang and Nguyen Thanh Luan from Petrosetco Ho Chi Minh City 3-1 and win the championship title.

Tien Dat and Van Nam easily claimed the first two games with their harmonious combination, scoring 11-8 each set.

Duy Hoang and Thanh Luan strived to narrow the gap 1-2 for Petrosetco with an 11-9 third-set win, only to see their hopes for resurgence extinguished by the Army’s 11-7 fourth-game triumph.

Earlier, the Army couple earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Hai Duong’s Doan Ba Tuan Anh and Nguyen Van Ngoc in the quarterfinals before addressing the semifinal challenge posed by Hanoi’s Phan Huy Hoang and Nguyen Anh Tu by the same score.

Petrosetco tasted another bitter failure on the same day with Mai Hoang My Trang and Nguyen Ngoc Quynh Tram regretfully dropping the women’s doubles trophy to the People’s Public Security team’s Nguyen Thi Viet Linh and Phan Hoang Tuong Giang as a result of their 2-3 defeat in the final match (7-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 5-11).

Regarding the mixed doubles category, Phan Hoang Tuong Giang played doubles with Dao Duy Hoang to trounce Hanoi’s Tran Tuan Quynh and Nguyen Thi Nga in three straight sets (11-8, 11-6, 11-8) and claim the gold medal in a convincing manner.

The 32nd Nhan Dan Newspaper National Table Tennis Championships will wrap up tonight with the two final matches of the men’s and women’s singles events.

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.