400 athletes compete in Taekwondo tournament

Almost 400 Taekwondo martial artists from 37 clubs nationwide are competing for the RoK Ambassador’s Cup in Hanoi , which kicked off on November 18.

The tournament was organised by the Korean Culture Centre in Vietnam in conjunction with the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation and the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Athletes will compete in 40 combat categories and 16 performance categories for two age groups, from 13-16 years old and from 17 years old.

The event, which will run until November 21, is considered a good chance for Vietnamese Taekwondo athletes to prepare for upcoming international events including the Youth Olympic Games 2014, Asian Games 2019, SEA Games 2013 and Asiad 2014.

At the opening ceremony, audiences enjoyed special art Taekwondo performance by Company drum dance Taekwondo Bigabi, ST 319 dance group and Samulnori group from the Korean Culture Centre.-

Final warm-up for foootballers as Games near

Vietnam's U23 team will play three practice matches in Binh Duong province as part of the squad's final preparations for the 27th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 27).

The team will face off against three first-division clubs: Tay Ninh on November 24, An Giang on November 27 and Ho Chi Minh City on November 30.

Head coach Hoang Van Phuc said each player would have a chance to demonstrate his skills on the field before a shortlist would be announced prior to the departure for Myanmar.

The team is expected to make the semi-finals at the Games.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese women's team began final training in Nanjing, China, on November 20 in a bid to defend their title at the 27th SEA Games in Myanmar next month.

The team will practice for two weeks there and play three matches against local clubs to find out their best formation for the Games.

At the SEA Games, defending Vietnamese champions are favourites to qualify from Group B to the last four, which also features Indonesia, hosts Myanmar and Philippines.

The team will return to Hanoi on December 2 and fly to Mandalay on December 5.

Dung wins second stage as An retains yellow jersey

Le Anh Dung took the second stage while Ho Huynh Van An retained the tour lead at the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Cycling Tournament yesterday.

Dung of Dong Da-Ha Noi took the checkered flag for the 160km second stage with a time of 5hr 7.05min from Phan Thiet in Binh Thuan Province to Phan Rang in Ninh Thuan Province.

Lam Cong Danh of An Giang and Le Huu Phuoc from Military Zone 7 finished second and third.

An of An Giang Plant Protection failed to make the top three following a puncture 800m from the finish line, but he remained top of the rankings with an overall time of 9:21.33.

Chau Hong Hau of Military Zone 7 and Eximbank HCM City's Le Minh Nguyet are in second and third.

Nguyet led the sprint race to claim the green jersey with 26 points.

In the team rankings, Eximbank are top on 28:05.19, followed by An Giang and Military Zone 7.

Today, the peloton will race from Phan Rang to Nha Trang over a distance of 106km.

Women's football team train in Nanjing before title retention bid

The Vietnamese women's team began their final training camp at Nanjing, China, today in a bid to defend their title at the 27th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmarnext month.

The team will practice for two weeks there and play three matches against local clubs to find out their best formation for the Games.

At the SEA Games, defending champions Viet Nam are favourites to qualify from Group B to the last four, which also features Indonesia, hosts Myanmar and Philippines.

The team will return to Ha Noi on December 2 and fly to Mandalay on December 5.

MyVita sponsors Vietnamese athletes at 27th SEA Games

SPM Corporation – MyVita Brand will present 1,000 gifts totalling VND125 million (US$5,875) to Vietnamese athletes as encouragement ahead of next month’s 27th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar.

A contract for the sponsorship was signed between the Corporation and the Vietnam Olympic Committee (VOC) in Hanoi on November 18.

The Corporation has also pledged to set aside VND15 million (US$705) for the best Vietnamese athlete on each day of competition and VND45 million (US$2,115) for the top three overall performers at the 27th SEA Games.

The winning athletes will be decided by the vote of fans, journalists and the MyVita Brand. The prizes are a combination of cash and products.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Deputy Head Lam Quang Thanh of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training hailed the SPM Corporation’s sponsorship, calling it a practical incentive that inspires the athletes to strive for glory at the games.

Source: SGT/SGGP/VNA/VNS/VOV/ND