Vietnam representative Becamex Binh Duong quit the Asian Football Confederation Champions League after losing 1-2 to FC Tokyo in their Group E match yesterday in Binh Duong Province.

Needing a win to guarantee progression to the knockout phase, FC Tokyo took a deserved lead shortly after the 20-minute mark at Binh Duong Stadium when Ryoichi Maeda headed home from close before the forward bagged his second with a fine strike 10 minutes after the interval.

Becamex Binh Duong’s Le Cong Vinh’s penalty midway through the second half gave the hosts hope before he struck the bar twice late on.

FC Tokyo should have opened the scoring 10 minutes in after Maeda’s nimble footwork helped him manoeuvre his way across the Becamex Binh Duong backline before playing in Keigo Higashi only for the midfielder to shoot over from eight yards under pressure from goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong.

However, the visitors did take the lead 21 minutes later when Kota Mizunuma slipped in Kento Hashimoto, who dinked a lovely cross over the outrushing Truong for Maeda to head into an empty net for his second goal of the group stage.

Defending a four-game unbeaten run at home in the continental competition, though, Becamex Binh Duong responded positively with forward Vinh firing just wide from the edge of the area a minute later.

FC Tokyo then could have opened up a two-goal lead soon after when Higashi played Nathan Burns, but the Australian’s first touch inside the area let him down at the vital moment.

And despite the Japanese side having the better of the possession, Becamex almost equalised a minute before the interval when Vinh’s wonderful drive from fully 30m struck the outside of the right post.

Burns again should have done better five minutes after the restart when Moses Oloya’s misplaced pass fell near him inside the Becamex half but, after breaking into the penalty area, the frontman was off target.

Another careless ball five minutes later, this time from substitute Christian Amougou, ended up with Maeda, who fooled the Becamex Binh Duong defence with a neat step-over before placing a beautiful left-foot shot from outside the area beyond the reach of goalie Trường to give the visitors breathing space.

The home side pulled one back on 68 minutes, though, after Yuichi Maruyama brought down Cameroonian Amougou, and Vinh coolly dispatched the ensuing penalty.

And the in-form forward almost equalised in the dying minutes when his speculative, curling effort from well outside the penalty area rebounded back off the crossbar.

FC Tokyo held out to claim the runners-up spot at the expense of Jiangsu FC, who played out a 2-2 draw with Korea Republic’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in another Group E encounter.

Leonardo’s penalty 19 minutes on gave the hosts the lead at Jeonju World Cup Stadium only for goals either side of half-time from Brazilian duo Alex Teixeira and Jo to wrest the initiative back to the visitors.

But with Lim Jong-eun heading home an equaliser on 68 minutes.

The Korean champions advanced as group winners ahead of FC Tokyo due to a superior head-to-head record.

FC Tokyo secured their second appearance in the last-16 round of the league, which will be played on May 17 and May 18.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors will meet Melbourne Victory while FC Tokyo meet Shanghai Sipg.

Teen Khoi wins men’s event at national chess tourney

Fourteen-year-old Nguyễn Anh Khôi, in a surprise victory, won the men’s standard chess category at the National Chess Championships that concluded on May 3 in Huế.

HCM City’s Khôi, who has an Elo rating of 2424, was ranked No.5 at the event behind veterans Đào Thiên Hải of HCM City (Elo 2476), Trần Tuần Minh of Hà Nội (Elo 2471), Nguyễn Huỳnh Minh Huy of HCM City (Elo 2462) and Nguyễn Văn Huy of Hà Nội (Elo 2424).

Khôi performed well at the national tournament, with six wins and three draws to gain 7.5 points, one point more than the runner-up Hải, who is from HCM City.

Earlier, Khôi won the silver medal in the men’s blitz chess division.

Khôi is only Việt Nam’s third chess player to win a national tournament at the age of 14. The two others are Từ Hoàng Thông and Hải.

On the women’s side, Khôi’s teammate Hoàng Thị Bảo Trâm took the lead with 6.5 points after nine matches.

Teams compete at int’l beach volleyball event

An international beach volleyball event was kicked off last night in the southern province of Cần Thơ.

The tournament, which is organised at the Hậu Riverbank Park, has 13 teams from seven countries competing.

Teams will compete for a total prize of US$15,000, in which the winner will take home $3,000.

According to Phạm Văn Luận, deputy director of the local Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, it was the first time such an international event was being held in the city.

The organisers have carefully prepared for the event, especially with a VNĐ2.5 billion budget to build sand courts and stands which meet international standards.

The matches will start today and the final is scheduled for Saturday.

Beach volleyball tourney gets underway in Can Tho

The Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women’s Beach Volleyball Tour Vietnam – Can Tho Open 2016 began in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on May 4.

The tournament, which lasts until May 7, attracts the participation of 11 teams from seven countries and territories – New Zealand, Australia, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong (China) and Vietnam.

Of 11 teams, Vietnam has three teams, Thailand and New Zealand each have two teams.

Pham Van Luan, Deputy Director of the Can Tho Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said this was the first time Can Tho had organised the event and the city invested 2.5 billion VND (110,000 USD) to prepare courts and stands meeting international standards.

The first match following the opening ceremony took place between New Zealand 2 and Vietnam 1 with Kiwi duo beating Vietnamese pair in three sets (22-20, 13-21, 12-15).

The tournament has a total prize money of 15,000 USD with the winners pocketing 3,000 USD.

VNS