Cannavaro to attend Tiger Street Football 2013

Former Italian soccer star Fabio Cannavaro will be in Vietnam to attend the Tiger Street Football 2013 tournament.

He is expected to be in the country on November 8-9. In early 2012, Cannavaro came to Vietnam for the first time at the invitation of Eximbank.

The tournament will start in early October with qualifying rounds taking place in Can Tho, Quy Nhon, HCM City and Hanoi.

The last round will be held in Hanoi with thirty-two strongest football teams competing for prizes worth VND85 million in total.

The best team will represent Vietnam in the international Tiger Street Football 2013 tournament which involves many famous football teams over the world.

Though street football was newly developed, it has proved a hit with local fans.

Vietnam is one of the first countries to have enjoyed this sport through tournaments organized by Tiger Beer.

Tien Minh hopes for national badminton champion title

Vietnam’s No1 badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh is expected to win the 2013 National Badminton Champions, which opened in HCM City on September 23.

If Minh wins the men’s single event, he will become the first player clinching 10 consecutive victories at the national champs.

He arrived in HCM City on September 23 after finishing third at the Japan Open championships in Tokyo.

This year’s championships has attracted many outstanding athletes nationwide, such as HCM City’s Pham Cao Cuong (World No19) who was qualified for the semi-finals at an Indonesia open tourney in August and  Hanoi’s Do Tuan Duc and Pham Hong Nam.

In the women’s event, two young players from Hanoi and Bac Giang are very hopeful about the finals, scheduled for September 27.

Young players rekindle hope for Vietnamese football

Football managers and fans gave praise and encouragement to the U19 national team although they only finished in second place at the ASEAN U19 Football Championships.

Indonesia defeated Vietnam 7-6 in a penalty shootout to claim the championship cup on their home turf on September 22.

After endless scandals about match-fixing and miserable defeats of the U23 team and the senior National team in the past, the steady progress of the U19 players in the ASEAN U19 Championships has somewhat restored the fans' passion for  domestic football.

The sportsmanship and spirit which were shown by the team stayed with the fans even though they lost the final against Indonesia. Vietnamese football fans are all optimistic about the gifts of these players, and they believe they represent the future of Vietnamese football.

Ever since the 'golden era' of the U16 team in 2000, the fans can now dare to put their hopes on the future of Vietnamese football once again. Many football lovers said they felt very proud of the team.

Doan Nguyen Duc, one of the biggest football moguls in Vietnam and one of the founders of Hoang Anh Gia Lai-Arsenal JMG, where most of the players began, said, "I'm proud of them no matter what. They made me feel so emotional. I think this is a success and I'll continue to invest in our young generation. Hopefully, they'll become the pillars of the U23 national team," he said.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese manager and coach, Guillaume Graechen, has expressed his discontent with the Indonesian team for  their brutal playing style and with the Thai referee for turning a blind eye to such dirty play.

Coach Guillaume Graechen said whoever watched the match will see that the referee ignored many of the fouls committed by the Indonesian team. He said even though this is only a tournament for young players, it doesn't mean that the rules should be abandoned, but, that's just how life works sometimes.

"Our young players, are so brave. They faced the game head on until the end, and  even though we don't have the champions cup, I know the fans will give their sincere praises to this fine performance." Duong Vu Lam, chief of the referee’s department of the Vietnam Football Federation said.

Xuan smashes javelin record

The National Athletics Championships saw only one new record on the second day on Monday at HCM City's Thong Nhat Stadium.

Soldier Bui Thi Xuan from the military made a 50.48m throw in the women's javelin event, setting a new national record and earning a gold medal.

The old record of 48.8m was also made by Xuan at last year's HCM City International Athletics Tournament.

In the women's 800m track, the absence of the Asian champion Truong Thanh Hang because of injury gave other young athletes greater opportunity. Do Thi Thao of Ha Noi continued to prove her ability to win with a time of 2min 08.76sec, pocketing her second gold following her first one in the 4x800m relay on Sunday.

In the men's 800m, SEA Games winner Duong Van Thai left his rivals far behind to take the title, clocking 1:50.75.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tham of An Giang, replacing her teammate sprint queen Vu Thi Huong, won the women's 100m with 11.96sec. Huong decided to withdraw from her competitive strong point due to not having recovered from injury.

Nguyen Van Huynh from the military took the men's 100m gold medal in a time of 10.65sec.

Olympian Duong Thi Viet Anh of Bac Lieu made a disappointing performance finishing only second in the women's high jump event.

Anh who met no difficulty flying over 1.85m in height at the Mekong Delta's Sport Games earlier this month could only achieve the same after her third attempt at Thong Nhat Stadium.

Meanwhile, key rival Pham Thi Diem from Ben Tre Province, favoured to be the gold medallist, jumped over 1,85m in her first try.

The four-day tournament which attracted more than 500 athletes from 48 cities and provinces will finish today.

Huyen sets pole-vault record

"Iron Man" Vu Van Huyen of the Military team set a new pole-vault record yesterday at the National Athletics Championships in HCM City.

Huyen's 4.90m jump beat his previous national record of 4.85m set last year.

Pham Thi Thanh Truc of Vinh Long Province also achieved a new record in the women's hammer throw with a result of 47.77m.

Quang Ngai Province-born Pham Thi Binh proved her strength in the 10,000m, taking the lead from the beginning and finishing about 200m ahead of the runners-up with a time of 36 min 27.31sec.

Teenager Nguyen Thi Oanh of Ha Noi won the women's 400m while the men's title went to Le Trong Hinh of Thanh Hoa.

Men's quartet Trung Hieu, Cong Son, Ngoc An and Hung Dung won the first gold for the hosts in the 4x100m event with a time of 40.17sec, the team's first title after four days of competition.

An Giang won the women's gold with strong support from SEA Games medallist Vu Thi Huong.

In the 110m hurdle, Da Nang's Hoang Luc Kieu My and Ngoc Quang of Ha Noi claimed the women's and men's crowns, respectively.

The national championships will finish today with nine finals.

U19s prepare for next challenge

The ASEAN silver medallists will take part in the Asian Football Confederation Under-19 Championship next month.

The Vietnamese side, who lost 6-7 to Indonesia over penalties in the ASEAN tournament's final, arrived home on Monday and will have two days rest before returning to training in Pleiku City, Gia Lai Province.

They will take part in a one-week practice before flying to Malaysia for a Group F tournament.

Viet Nam will first play Chinese Taipei on October 3. The next rivals are Hong Kong (on October 5) and Australia (on October 7).

VN U16s begin Asian qualifiers

Viet Nam will start their 2014 AFC U16 Championship qualification campaign today when they kick off against Indonesia in Kuala Lumpur, Myanmar.

Coach Dinh Van Dung's team, who are in Group J, will then face Japan on Friday and the Philippines on Sunday.

The qualifiers include forty three teams divided into 10 groups of five and four teams.

The winners of each group and the best five second-ranked teams from all groups will qualify for the tournament in Thailand next year.

Former swimmer dead at 32

SEA Games silver medal winner Tran Xuan Hien died in a traffic accident on Sunday, aged 32.

The Quang Binh Province-born swimmer was said to be one of the best athletes in Vietnamese swimming, as he ended the national 28-year medal drought in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games by winning a silver in the men's 100m breaststroke in 2001.

Hien retired two years later, working hard in daily life to make ends meet. Hien was a trainer and security guard at the Tan Phu District's swimming club in HCM City.

He is survived by a wife and two young daughters.

Friends and colleagues collected money to bring him home and organise his funeral.

Linh wins table tennis tournament

Dinh Quang Linh took the gold medal after beating Le Tien Dat 4-1 in the final of the Ha Noi Moi Newspaper Table Tennis Open at Ha Noi's Trinh Hoai Duc Gymnasium on Sunday.

In the final of the men's amateur singles, Quoc Viet of Agribank won 3-0 against Dinh Thang of Bao Duc Dentistry.

In the men's B category, Nguyen Trung Kien of Ha Noi T&T enjoyed a 2-1 victory over Duc Long of the Phu Tho Public Security Department.

Linh and Dat will attend the National Table Tennis Stars Tournament this October before competing at the SEA Games in December.

Ha Noi top national rowing, canoeing contest

Canoers and rowers from the country's capital dominated the National Rowing and Canoeing Championship that wrapped up on Sunday at the Ho Tay Rowing Centre.

Boasting many internationals in its team, Ha Noi easily won 14 gold medals to top the medal table in the canoeing competition.

Binh Thuan claimed second place with four gold medals, while Thai Nguyen took third place.

In the rowing competition, which was held at the same venue, Ha Noi shrugged off challenges from other teams to take first place overall with seven gold medals, four silvers and two bronzes.

Hai Duong were in second with four gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes, while Ha Tinh took third place with two gold medals, one silver and one bronze.

Athletes set records at nationals

Three records were set yesterday at the ongoing National Athletics Championships at Thong Nhat Stadium in HCM City.

Pham Van Lam of Ha Noi set a new best in men's long jump with a 7.73m jump, while earlier, Nam Dinh clocked a new record in the men's 4x200m relay at 1min 25.34sec.

Day 1 saw the return of Southeast Asian sprint queen Vu Thi Huong after a brief hiatus from early this year.

Huong stamped her dominance at the event earning gold and setting a record with her An Giang teammates in the women's 4x200m relay event, timing 1:36.25.

The tournament attracted more than 500 athletes from 48 cities and provinces with few of the nation's top athletes present.

Asian 800m champion Truong Thanh Hang is yet to recover from a broken leg, while rising star Quach Thi Lan and her younger brother are undergoing intensive training in Bulgaria.

The competition will conclude today.

Vietnam women take bronze at AFF Championship

Vietnam soundly defeated hosts Myanmar 3-1 in their third-place match yesterday to secure the bronze medal at the 2013 AFF Women’s Championship.

The visitors, former champions of the event, demonstrated great strength by grabbing a lightning-quick lead of 1-0 in the second minute of the match with a goal from veteran defender Ngoc Anh.

Young striker Le Thu Thanh Huong slammed in Vietnam’s second goal ten minutes later, though Myanmar narrowed the gap to 1-2 in the 28th minute.

After the break, Myanmar pushed forward to equalise, but ended up conceding a third goal to Vietnam, scored by striker Minh Nguyet.

The bronze medal is a well-earned reward for the Vietnam team, boosting their confidence and spirit in preparation for the upcoming 27th Southeast Asian Games this December.

The same day, U-23 Japan defeated U-19 Australia 5-3 on penalties to claim this year’s championship title.

HCM City, An Giang crowned kickboxing champions

HCM City fought their way to the top with a total of two gold, two silver and seven bronze medals, followed by Binh Duong and Dak Lak in second and third place.

An Giang defended their women’s crown with two gold medals and one silver. Dak Lak were runners-up with one gold and two silvers, while Dong Nai and Tay Ninh shared third prize, each winning one medal of each colour.

The annual event was held at Rach Mieu Sports Gymnasium in HCM City from September 16-21. 180 kickboxers competed, representing 22 teams in 12 men’s weight classes ranging from 45kg-91kg, and nine women’s weight categories from 46kg to 75kg.