World Cup 2015 hopes growth for Vietnamese women

 Draw results show Vietnam will play Australia, Japan and Jordan in Group A (Photo: VNA)

Host Viet Nam joined Group A of the Asian Women's Football Cup final after a draw in HCM City this morning.

Southeast Asia's top team will play world champions Japan, Asian winner Australia and Jordan.

Group B consists of South Korea, China, Thailand and Myanmar.

Teams will play in a round robin format. The top two of each group will advance to the semi-final round and pocket a ticket to play at the World Cup 2015.

The third-place teams will compete in a play-off round with the winner grabbing the last World Cup berth available for Asia.

The Asian Cup will be organised in Viet Nam on May 14-25 in HCM City and Binh Duong Province. Viet Nam, Thailand, Myanmar and Jordan had to take part in the qualification round. The other four received wild-cards.

HCMC triumph at National Bodybuilding Championships

Body-builders from Ho Chi Minh city have basked in glory with a total of 5 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals at the 17th National BodyBuilding Championships that closed in the northern port city of Haiphong on December 1.

The Agifish An Giang team came second with 4 gold, 1 silver and 6 bronze medals, followed by the Hanoi team with 3 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals.

This year’s the competition attracted 80 athletes from 11 cities and provinces including Agifish An Giang, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Duong, Can Tho, Danang, Dong Nai, Hanoi, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Haiphong and Ho Chi Minh City.

They competed in four weight categories for men (55 kg, 60 kg, 65 kg, and 70 kg) and two categories for women (46 kg and 49 kg).

Bodybuilding has grown fast  in Vietnam, with local athletes winning top places at some continental and world events. Most recently, bodybuilder Nguyen Anh Thong and Pham Van Mach brought home one gold and two silver medals from the fifth World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships, which took place in Hungary from November 12-18.

Viet Nam sent home from Toyota tourney

Vietnamese tennis players were swept away by the competition at the Toyota Asian Championships in Thailand yesterday.

Do Minh Quan and Le Quoc Khanh lost 1-6, 2-6 to Chinese Taipei duo Chen Ti and Chuang Ting-yu in the first round of the men's doubles event.

Huynh Phuong Dai Trang (Viet Nam) and Sabina Sharipova (Uzbekistan) who were also trounced 1-6, 2-6 by No 4 seeds Chen Yi and Hsieh Shu Ying in the second round.

HCMC hosts int’l X Games tournament

Two hundred athletes representing 20 countries and territories are competing at the 2013 Ho Chi Minh City Open International X Games on November 29-30.

Unfolding at the city’s Phu Tho Competition House, the tournament will see some of the world’s leading X Games stars demonstrate their skills in inline skating and skateboarding, hip-hop, beat-boxing, and Parkour (free running) events.

Spectators can also enjoy music performances at the tournament’s Awards Gala.

X Games, or extreme sports, are a healthy mode of expression for young people passionate about street art and culture.

Nam, Cuong get wildcards to compete at VN Open

Nguyen Hoang Nam and Pham Cao Cuong have received wildcards to compete at the Yonex-Sunrise Viet Nam Open badminton tournament following the draw yesterday in HCM City.

In the first round which kicks off on Monday, Nam, the world No 311, will play No 7 seed Won Ho-son of South Korea, while world No 227 Cuong will face Chi Hung Lu from Chinese Taipei.

Yunus Alamsyah of Indonesia, who is ranked 36th in the world, is seeded 1, followed by Chung Seang Tan of Malaysia and Yan Kit Chan of Hong Kong.

Viet Nam's world No 8 Nguyen Tien Minh withdrew from the event to compete at the 27th SEA Games. As the hosts, Viet Nam have nine male representatives who had to start in the qualifying round.

In the women's event, top national players Vu Thi Trang and Le Thu Huyen have been drawn in the main round.

Trang, a Youth Olympic bronze medallist, will face Hung Shih Han from Chinese Taipei. Huyen, who has made great progress recently, will play Lin Ying Chun, also from Taipei.

Top seeds Febby Angguni, Hera Desi and Maria Febe Kusumastuti all are from Indonesia.

The Viet Nam Open, a Badminton World Federation Super Series event, will also feature doubles competitions.

The annual tournament has lured more than 230 athletes from 13 teams. The finals are scheduled for December 8.