Disabled swimmers cinch golds, set records in Berlin

Vietnamese swimmers have set two Asian records at the Berlin Open, a tournament for amputee athletes in Germany.

During the April 24-27 event, the Southeast Asian athletes pocketed eight gold, four silver, and two bronze medals, thereby breaking two ASEAN ParaGames records.

Vo Thanh Tung demonstrated that he was indeed the best in the team by bagging four titles. Among his achievements, the 1min 19.04sec result in the men's 100m freestyle S5 is the new continental record and the 41.02sec in the 50m backstroke S5 category is the new ASEAN ParaGames record. He won two other gold medals in the 50m butterfly S5 and 50m freestyle S5 events.

His teammate, DoThanh Hai, also won in the men's 100m breaststroke SB4 class, by clocking a time of 1:15.98 and creating a new Asian record. He earlier pocketed a silver medal in the 50m breaststroke SB4 class event, clocking 46sec.

Other winners were Trinh Thi Bich Nhu, who triumphed in the women's 50m butterfly S6 and set a new ASEAN record with a time of 48.51sec and Ha Van Hiep in the men's 50m freestyle and backstroke S events.

"They have shown remarkable improvement during training and competitions throughout this tournament. Their results are better than the required standards to take part in the Asian ParaGames in South Korea, in October," asserted National Coach Dang Quoc Cong, adding that they will definitely win tickets to compete in the Incheon event.

The Vietnamese eight-athlete team came to Germany to take part in the events. The Vietnamese and Japanese teams are the two teams from Asia competing at the Berlin Open, which has lured about 700 swimmers from across the world.

Viet Nam have set a target of winning at least two gold medals at the upcoming Asian ParaGames.

Long An enlist foreign talent

Dong Tam Long An have added a foreign name to its lineup that will compete for the second leg of the V-League.

The club last week signed a contract with Montenegro striker Zdravko Dragicevic that will take effect till the end of the season in July.

Commentators say the 27-year-old's signing will strengthen the team's attacking capabilities and help create more opportunities for the forward line. Meanwhile, Dragicevic has represented five different clubs including some in Indonesia and Singapore. He also boasts a career tally of 59 goals.

"We hope he will meet our demands in the coming matches. He will support veteran attacking midfielder Phan Van Tai Em. He could also make a pair with Danny David in the front line when neccesary," said the club's managing director Vo Thanh Nhiem.

Liem to take part in world and local chess tourneys

Grandmaster Le Quang Liem will represent Vietnam at the FIDE World Blitz and Rapid Chess Championships from June 15 to 21 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Both events will be Swiss pairings tournaments and will be held over two days for blitz and three days for rapid.

The blitz will have 21 rounds, while the rapid will be 15 rounds, with a single game for each round. Liem is the defending champion of the blitz competition.

The World No 36 will return to Vietnam to take part in the National Blitz and Rapid Chess Championships from May 11 to 17 in Ho Chi Minh City.

An wins HCM City Cycling Cup's 26th edition

Ho Huynh Van An of An Giang Plant Protection won the 26th edition of the HCM City Cycling Cup, which wrapped up on April 30.

An was not among the top three cyclists to finish the last stage, but his time of 28 hours and 43.38 minutes was good enough for him to register his first victory in the nation's most prestigious cycling competition.

The 21-year-old pocketed another four points to reach 78, strengthening his number one position in the green jersey competition, although he had ensured that he will take home the green jersey after yesterday's stage.

"I must say a big thank you to my coaches and teammates who strongly backed me to win this tough tournament. I still need their help and will try harder to perfect myself and grab victories in the upcoming events," An stated.

Huynh Van Thuan of ADC-Vinh Long Television was second, and Phan Hoang Thai of Domesco Dong Thap Pharmacy finished third.

Thai also won a white jersey for the best young rider.

The last stage this morning saw Le Van Duan's third victory as the rider of the Suntek Sao Viet HCM City team, who clocked the best time of 3:39.28 on the 145km stage between Bao Loc City of Lam Dong Province and HCM City.

Le Nguyet Minh of Eximbank HCM City, who won the 10th stage yesterday, came second. The third place went to Le Huu Phuoc of Military Zone 7.

In the overall team rankings, Suntek Sao Viet HCM City secured the top position, clocking 84:47.03. An Giang and Domesco Dong Thap are the two runners-up.

The cyclists will next participate in another tournament "Return to Dien Bien", an event that aims to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the historic Dien Bien Phu victory over the French colonialists, starting tomorrow in Ha Noi.

Hai Duong to host boating gala

The National Traditional Boat Boating Tournament will kick off on May 5, on the Con Son Lake of the Con Son-Kiep Bac Tourism Site in Chi Linh Commune, Hai Duong Province.

The organisers have claimed that the event will have the participation of more than 500 athletes from 14 delegations in the 18 events held for both men and women.

They will compete in three distances of 200, 500 and 1,000m.

Quang Tri, is considered one of the favourites to win the title and represented by 70 athletes, is the biggest contingent to ever to participate in the tournament. The Can Tho contingent comprises 55 athletes and the host Hai Duong and Kien Giang have sent 50 athletes each.

This is the second edition of the tournament, which is a part of the National Sports Games. It was first organised in Ha Tien, Kien Giang Province.

According to Nguyen Hai Duong, the general secretary of the Viet Nam Canoeing, Rowing, and Boating Federation, the results of this competition will be counted in the seventh National Sports Games in November.

The results of the tournament will also be considered the basic criteria to select athletes for the national team, which will compete at the Asian Beach Games, later this year in Phuket, Thailand.

The finals of all events are scheduled to be held on May 12.

Hosts Vietnam crushed Tajikistan 10-4 in their second match on May 2, keeping alive the hope of entering the knock-out round.

As both teams suffered defeats in their opening games, they played cautiously, seeking to gain considerable advantage in their last group match.

It was the host team that applied a pressing tactic throughout the game, scoring five goals in each half.

Vietnamese defenders sometimes lost their control, helping their Tajikistan players to slot in. However, with their second defeat, Tajikistan have little chance to qualify for the quarter-finals.

In another Group A match, Kuwait outperformed Iraq 5-3, maintaining their leading position after two consecutive wins and securing a berth to the knock-out stage.

Vietnam will take on powerhouse Kuwait, while Iraq will play Tajikistan in their last group match.

Vietnam suffer defeat at World Team Table Tennis Champs

Vietnam lost 1-3 to Bulgaria in their last group series of the on-going 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo on May 1.

A victory would earn either team fourth position in the group as both just won a match each.

Coach Nguyen Duc Long maintained the line-up that outperformed the Dominican Republic on April 30.

Regrettably Dinh Quang Linh was beaten 2-3 by S. Golovanov despite his 2-1 lead in the early minutes of the game.

SEA Games 27 silver medallist Le Tien Dat of Vietnam outplayed T. Alexandrov 3-0, equalising the score.

However, P. Krastev knocked out Duong Van Nam of Vietnam 3-1, extending Bulgaria’s lead, before T. Alexandrov completed a 3-1 victory over Vietnam in a clash against Dinh Quang Linh.

This was Vietnam’s fourth defeat at the tournament.

With five wins, Slovenia topped the group; Bulgaria finished fourth, and Vietnam stayed at fifth position.

Tai signs with Binh Duong

National midfielder Le Tan Tai will play for Binh Duong for two seasons.

Former V-League champions Becamex Binh Duong have signed a contract with national team midfielder Le Tan Tai, according to general director of the Binh Duong Sports-Football Jointstock Company, Cao Van Chong.

Tai, 30, recently ended his contract with Hai Phong on April 28 and signed the two-year deal a day after passing a medical screening with the new club.

On the same day, Binh Duong registered Tai in its lineup to compete at the coming 15th round this weekend.

Rumours are circulating that Tai will pocket around VND5 billion (US$238,000) and a monthly salary of VND40 million ($1,900) under the deal.

Dung wins fourth stage with strong finish

Nguyen Thuy Dung successfully escaped from her fellow cyclers to win the fourth stage of the Return to Dien Bien Cycling Tournament yesterday.

Dung, of the Binh Duong Environment and Water Supply and Drainage team, cycled eight rounds around Son La City, for 32km, with a time of 45.42min.

Dung ran away from the group at the beginning of the seventh lap, though riders from Hat Ngoc Troi An Giang and Co May Dong Thap teams sought to catch up with Dung. However, her teammates were successful in holding them behind. She continued alone to the finish, creating a gap of nearly 10sec from the nearest riders.

National member Vo Thi Phuong Phi, Dung's teammate, came in second, just moments before the yellow jersey holder Nguyen Thi That of An Giang.

That continues as the tournament's leader, with a time of 6:38.38, while Nguyen Phan Ngoc Trang and Cao Thi Cam Le, both of Binh Duong, remain close behind.

That also leads the green jersey category with 80 points.

In the women's team ranking, Binh Duong is on top, followed by Dong Thap and An Giang.

On the men's side, the Eximbank HCM City team won the first stage win when member Le Nguyet Minh finished the 12 lap-48km race with 1:03.08.

The short stage witnessed consecutive high-speed attempts. Among them, a group of five cyclists broke-away on the fifth lap. They were successful in remaining ahead for some 24km, creating a 40sec gap with the chasing cyclists.

They were joined by the entire group at the beginning of the final lap.

Minh made a strong sprint to win his first stage. Le Van Duan of SunTek Sao Viet HCM City was second and Amirul Anuar Jafri of Malaysia was third.

Finishing fifth was Nguyen Tan Hoai of Domesco Dong Thap Pharmacy, who maintains his position as the competition's leader. His teammate, Nguyen Truong Tai, is the second fastest rider and Aso Keisuke of Bonne Chance of Japan and Huynh Mai Duy of SunTek Sao Viet shared third place.

Hoai who has won 66 points and also tops the green jersey pool.

With two members in the top three, Domesco Dong Thap strongly holds the first position in the team ranking table. Military Zone 7 and SunTek Sao Viet remain close behind.

Today, the tournament will finish when the women ride 90km from Tuan Giao Town to Dien Bien Phu City and the men compete in a 130km race from Thuan Chau Town to Dien Bien Phu City.

They will have to conquer two hills at Pha Din and Tang Quai.

Three cyclists, Hoai, Tai and Nguyen Thanh Tam of An Giang Plant Protection, will vie for the red jersey and the King of the Mountain.

Student sports festival opens in Moscow

Roughly 600 Vietnamese students from universities in Moscow and the surrounding area are participating in a sports festival from May 1-9.

At the festival, there’s an event for every sports loving student including football, track and field, and tug-of-war.

The event aims to encourage Vietnamese students who are studying in Russia to live an active and healthy lifestyle and take some time off from their studies to enjoy life and have a great time.

Over the years, the Vietnamese Embassy in Moscow has paid proper attention to culture and sports events for Vietnamese students, which always receive warm responses from the students.