Veteran player Pham Thi Kim Hue has agreed to play for Ayuttaya ATCC Club in the second round of the Thai national volleyball championship.

The former national will join her new team in January for several days of practice and to discuss her contract.

Volleyball player Pham Thi Kim Hue (R)  – Photo: VNE

"I am surprised by the invitation because I am not young anymore, and my performance is not as good as I want it to be. However, [this invitation] tells me that I am still good enough to have won their trust," said Hue.

Hue, 30, will be the fourth Vietnamese volleyballer to play in Thailand, all of whom are female.

Volleyball teams to compete in four international competitions

Viet Nam will take part in four international volleyball tournaments in 2015.

The first games are the Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship from May 12-20, held in Chinese Taipei.

At the same time, the youth team will take part in the Asian Men's U23 Clubs Volleyball Championship in Myanmar.

Also, the Asian Women's Volleyball Championship will be held on June 12-26 in China and the Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship will be in Viet Nam from September 12-20.

Quang Ninh to play friendly match against S Korea's Busan I'park

V-League's Quang Ninh Coal will play a friendly match against the South Korean Busan I'park today (Dec 30) at the Thong Nhat Stadium in HCM City.

The kick-off time for the match is 5pm; admission is fee.

The friendly match will be a good warm-up activity for the Vietnamese side before they play against Dong Nai in the first round match for the national tournament. This game will be held five days after the friendly with Busan l'park.

Busan I'park, established in 1983, are participants of the K-League Classic. They won the title in 1984, 1987, 1991 and 1997. They finished in eighth place out of 12 participating teams last year.

The friendly match is one of the activities that reflect the cooperation between the two football federations. Both sides have sent their respective teams to participate in training sessions and competitions held in recent years.

Korean Taekwondo and K-pop Day in Hanoi

Taekwonpop Day, which will bring Taekwondo and K-pop culture from the Republic of Korea, will be held at Indochina Plaza Hanoi on December 28.

Taekwondo activities will start at 1pm with the presence of Korean comic artist Lee Kwang Deuk as MC. The programme includes a Taekwondo class, Taekwondo talent contest and competition for audiences.

A night festival will begin at 6pm with performances by champions of K-pop Contests and K-pop FC Festivals. Notably, invited guests from the RoK including singers Jung Sung Hwan, YJB, boyband NOM, and girlband Switch, will give their first show in Vietnam. The artists are well known in the RoK and have performed abroad in the Philippines, China, Thailand and Japan.

Park Nark Jong, director of the Korean Cultural Centre, the organiser, said the event, as the last one hosted by the Centre in the year 2014, is considered a thanks to Vietnamese audiences who have contributed to the success of the culture exchange between Vietnam and the RoK over the past year. “The next year will see more such culture exchange activities which will help boost the relations between the two nations”, he said.

In 2014, the Korean Culture Centre has organized various events such as fine art exhibitions, music performances, food festivals, K-pop contest and others.

Tri, Hao claim singles titles at national tennis tournament

Lam Quang Tri of Ca Mau yesterday (Dec 29) won the gold medal in the National Top Tennis Players Tournament for the men's singles event.

Tri overcame his score disadvantages to defeat Hoang Thanh Trung from Ha Noi 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final at the Phu Tho Gymnasium in HCM City.

Nguyen Hoang Hai of Binh Duong and Pham Minh Tuan from Da Nang won bronze medals.

In the women's division, veteran player Tran Thi Tam Hao of the host won the gold medal with scores 6-2 and 6-3 by defeating Da Nang's representative, Phan Thi Thanh Binh.

HCM City's Si Boi Ngoc and Dao Minh Trang shared the third place.

Tuan to miss V-League's first match due to torn groin ligament

National midfielder Vu Minh Tuan will miss the 2015 V-League season opener due to injuries.

Tuan suffered a torn groin ligament during the ASEAN Football Federation Cup earlier this month, and the tear has become more serious.

Doctors said the 24-year-old would need at least three weeks to recover, meanwhile the V-League will kick off on January 4.

Tuan's Quang Ninh Coal club will play Dong Nai on the away field in the first round match

 VNS/ND/VNN