Four players suspended from V-League

Hanoi T&T's Hoang Vu Samson.

The Viet Nam Football Federation's Disciplinary Board yesterday moved to suspend four players related to the scuffle between Ha Noi T&T and Hai Phong in the V-League's round 17 on Sunday.

Hai Phong's Nguyen Van Nam was fined VND20 million (US$900) and prohibited from playing until the event finishes on August 31.

Both Nam's teammate Dong Duc Thang and Hoang Vu Samson of Ha Noi T&T have also been fined to the sum of VND15 million ($700) and suspended from the next four matches.

Vu Thanh Tung of Hai Phong has also been punished, being fined VND10 million ($470) and suspended from the next two matches.

Minh is seeded No 7 at Japan Open

Top Vietnamese badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh is seeded No 7 at the Yonex Japan Open 2014, according to the event's draw.

World No 10 Minh will meet strong rival and World No 20 Sony Dwi Kuncoro from Indonesia in the first round.

In their previous matches, the two players have balanced the record with two wins and two losses.

If he beats Kuncoro, Olympian Minh will face the winner of the match between Hsu Jen Hao of Chinese Taipei and Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark in the second round.

World No 1 Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia is also competing in this US$250,000 tourney, which is scheduled to be held from June 10 to 16.

Minh, who is from HCM City, had reached the semi-final of the event last year.

Da Nang beat Thanh Hoa 4-2

Former champions SHB Da Nang beat Thanh Hoa 4-2 in a late 17th round V-League match at the Chi Lang Stadium yesterday.

Playing at home, the central city team came from behind twice to post their sixth win of the season.

The visitors scored the opener just three minutes into the game when Le Duc Tuan found the net after a counter-attack.

Just three minutes later, Ho Ngoc Thang leveled the scores with a powerful header.

The better team in the first half, Thanh Hoa went into the interval leading 2-1, thanks to a 19th minute volley by naturalized player Le Van Tan, one of the best goals of this round.

Vo Huy Toan restored parity for the hosts with a 40th minute tuck to the right corner of the opponent's goal.

The hosts' domination of the second half saw Brazilian Bernado Jonathan score a brace, finding the net in the 56th and 94th minutes.

"I am really satisfied with what they did in this match. They perfectly completed what I asked of them," said coach Le Huynh Duc of Da Nang, referring to young players whose skills were tested yesterday.

Coach Mai Duc Chung of Thanh Hoa said it was an unlucky day for his team, with several strikes finding the cross bar or the pole.

"If we had taken those opportunities, the score would have been different. It seems that the hot weather exhausted our players and caused an unexpected result," Chung said.

Da Nang's victory does not change their rankings. Thanh Hoa are still third with 29 points, while Da Nang are fourth with 25.

That finishes fifth in Asian cycling event

Cyclist Nguyen Thi That stood fifth in the women's 120km mass start event at the Asian Cycling Championships in Karaganda, Kazakhstan.

Mei Yu Hsiao of Chinese Taipei took first place.

That's teammates Nguyen Ngoc Trang and Phan Thi Lieu finished in 13th and 19th place, respectively.

Vietnamese athletes also competed in the men's U23 140km race and men's 200km race.

Khoi to compete in SEA chess event

World U10 champion Nguyen Anh Khoi will compete in the U20 category in the Southeast Asian Nations Age-Group Chess Championships which begin today at Sands Cotai Central in Macau, China.

Viet Nam sent 71 players to the event which will run until June 16.

Keren Anne Worlock of the United Kingdom clocked 2hr 18min to win the first place in the women's stamina category of the Le Fruit Off-road Triathlon on Sunday.

Severine Leroux from France and Andrea Towne of the US came second and third, respectively.

The men's stamina title was bagged by Erick Moreau from France with a time of 2:15:00, followed by South African Richard Leech (2:15:30) and Briton Matthew Wright (2:17:00).

It is the 13th edition of the multisport event held at Ho Tram Beach, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Viet Nam, which lured about 150 international and local participants aged from six competing in different events such as swimming, mountain biking and running.

The toughest category of stamina offered a combination of 750m open water swimming, 40km biking and 10km running on the beach. Other pools are duathlon, sprint and geckos for juniors and children.