U23s begin final prep for SEA Games

Viet Nam's U23 team will play three practice matches in Binh Duong Province as part of the squad's final preparations for the 27th Southeast Asian Games.

The team will face off against three First Division clubs; Tay Ninh on November 24, An Giang on November 27 and HCM City on November 30.

Hoang Van Phuc said each player would have a chance to demonstrate their skills on the field before a shortlist would be announced before the departure for Myanmar.

The team are expected to make the semi-finals at the Games.

Van An claims opening stage

Young rider Ho Huynh Van An won the first stage of the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Cycling Tournament yesterday.

An of An Giang Plant Protection finished the 167km tour from HCM City to Phan Thiet with a time of 4hr 13.37min to take the yellow jersey.

Chau Hong Hau of Military Zone 7 and Nguyen Minh Luan of ADC-Vinh Long Television 2 came second and third, respectively.

Le Minh Nguyet of Eximbank-HCM City took the green jersey with 18 points.

His team topped the team ranking with 12:41.01, followed by BTV Binh Duong and An Giang.

The second stage today will cover 157km from Phan Thiet to Phan Rang – Thap Cham.

The annual tournament, organised by the Voice of HCM City People, drew 65 cyclists who will ride 850km through five cities and provinces. The race is divided into seven stages; the final stage will start on November 23.

Cuong takes badminton silver

Pham Cao Cuong of Viet Nam won a silver medal at the Korea Junior Open Badminton Championships, which closed yesterday in Jeonju city, the capital of North Jeolla Province.

Cuong, tournament No 4, played under his capacity and lost 4-21, 13-21 to Choi Sol-kyu, No 5, of the host in the boys' under-19 category.

The silver was still a positive result for the 17-year-old as it was his first international medal.

Cuong will next play at the Li Ning Singapore Youth International starting on November 25.

In other badminton news, Vietnamese No 1 Nguyen Tien Minh has withdrawn from the Viet Nam Open Super Series, which will kick off early next month.

The world No 7 reasoned that he wanted to focus on the SEA Games, which will also be organised at the same time in Myanmar.

Despite being in the world top 10 for many years, Minh has never won a SEA Games title. Nor has any player from Viet Nam.

Minh will compete tomorrow at the Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open on November 19-24. It will be his last preparation for the SEA Games, the badminton portion of which begins on December 9.

Female footballers train in China for SEA Games

Female Vietnamese players flew to Jiangsu province’s Nanjing city on November 18 for a two-week training course in preparation for the upcoming 27th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).

They will play three friendly matches against local teams, including U19 Jiangsu, to select a complete line-up for SEA Games.

Chinese coach Chen Yun Fat’s players will return to Hanoi on December 2 and fly to Myanmar three days later for SEA Games competitions.

Vietnam will play in Group A against Indonesia (December 10), the Philippines (December 13), and Myanmar (December 15).

At the recent 2013 Southeast Asian women’s football championship in Myanmar, Vietnam defeated their hosts 3-1 to claim third position.

Source: SGT/SGGP/VNA/VNS/VOV/ND