Danish Ambassador, Running Man to join Mountain Marathon

Danish Ambassador to Vietnam John Nielsen and internet celebrity Arsenal fan “Running Man” Vu Xuan Tien will both compete in the 21km Vietnam Mountain Marathon through Sa Pa’s picturesque mountain landscape.

Ambassador Nielsen unveiled his intention to participate ahead of the marathon’s official October 5 launch in Lao Cai province’s Sa Pa town.

The first of its kind in Vietnam, the marathon has already registered 200 athletes representing 28 nations including the US, Canada, France, Denmark, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and China.

The Danish diplomat expressed his eagerness to meet his fellow competitors and friendly Lao Cai and Sa Pa locals. The event will help promote Vietnam’s beautiful natural scenery to an international audience.

He thanked local authorities for supporting the event, describing their contributions as essential to the marathon’s success. He hopes the annual event will benefit athletes and the economies of their Lao Cai and Sa Pa hosts.

The US$20 participation fees of each runner will be donated to Sapa O’Chau, a local organisation striving to expand the educational opportunities offered to ethnic minority children.

U19 Vietnam trounces Taiwan at Asian tourney

The Vietnamese squad defeated its Taiwanese rivals 6-1 at the opening match in F group of the U19 Asian football tournament’s qualifying round in Malaysia on October 3.

Striker Cong Phuong opened the scoring in the 12th minute of the first half after receiving a pass from his teammate Van Toan and scored the second goal nine minutes later.

Vietnam’s third goal came in the 54th minute of the second half, putting its rivals under heavy pressure.

Four minutes later, Cong Phuong successfully kicked the ball into the net, completing his hat-trick.

The 5th goal was scored by Van Toan in the 60th minute and the 6th by Lam Ti Phong in the 87th minute.

Taiwan’s only goal was made by Wang Li An in the 89th minute.

The Vietnamese squad led by French coach Guilleme Graechen was placed second only to Australia which claimed a convincing 7-0 victory against Hong Kong (China).

U19 Vietnam will meet Hong Kong on October 5, and Australia later. The top winner of Group F will enter the final round, which is scheduled for Myanmar next year.

Futsal Vietnam wins SEA Games preparation tournament

The Vietnamese women’s futsal team has defeated their Thai rivals 4-3 in the final of the pre-SEA Games futsal tournament concluded in Myanmar on October 3.

Guided by Thai coach Rakphol Sainetngam, the Vietnamese squad demonstrated their outstanding performance in a match that reversed the results of their 2-5 loss to Thailand during the earlier qualifying rounds.

The Vietnamese players will return for training at Ho Chi Minh City’s Thai Son Nam Centre on October 4 before departing for an additional intensive training programme in Japan on November 15.

Minh seeded six for Denmark Open

Viet Nam's top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh has been seeded six for the Yonex Denmark Open which will run from October 15-20 in Odense City.

The world No 6 will face Wei Feng Chong of Malaysia in the first round, whom he has defeated three times since 2008.

The Denmark Open is part of the World Super Series, with prize money of US$400,000.

National archery tournament opens

The National Archery Championships 2013 kicked off yesterday in the northern province of Phu Tho.

The tournament, now in its 16th year, has attracted 106 archers from 15 provinces and cities across the country, including Ha Noi, HCM City, Hai Phong and hosts Phu Tho.

Men will compete at four distances; 90m, 70m, 50m and 30m in the recurve and compound categories; while women will compete at 70m, 60m, 50m and 30m.

The best archers will be selected for the national team to take part in the Southeast Asia Games later this year in Myanmar.

The tournament will end on October 10.

National tennis champs to kick off

The National Tennis Championships – Vietravel Cup will be held from October 6-12 in Ha Noi.

More than 80 athletes from the nation's top clubs have registered to take part in the most important tournament of the year.

This year, the organisers have opened the door to a foreign club from Russia where overseas Vietnamese play.

The top players will be selected for the national team at the ASEAN Tennis Championships next month.