VietNamNet Bridge – Teenager Le Thanh Thuy will play her first ever match after being selected for the Ha Noi women’s volleyball squad to compete in the national All-Stars championship today, Oct 6.

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Ready to roll: The Ha Noi women’s volleyball team are all set to compete against Binh Dien Long An in the National All-Stars Championship at Hai Duong Gymnasium today. (Photo: VNS)

Thuy, 15, who became the youngest player in the championship in the history of the sport in Viet Nam, spent five-years training with the Ha Noi team.

The key attacker will patch the hole left by a deficiency of top quality volleyballers since the capital’s Ha Noi Post Office team, dissolved last year after a 40-year existence in the premier league.

But the end of the long-running relationship with the Post Office, didn’t mean the end of the club, as it revealed a new 12-member squad, which has been trained by senior coach Nguyen Ngoc Manh, and Thai players Somruk Sungpukiaw and Narum Khanan.

"I feel very nervous about my first competitive match. I’m so excited to be called up by the team after five years of training," said attacker Thuy.

"However, I still need more time to improve my digging and defensive skills."

Standing at 1.78m, she can execute a 3m standing-start jump, which helps her spike over the net from the 3m line.

"Thuy is a powerful volleyballer. She is a future Vietnamese volleyball star," the team coach’s assistant Nguyen Nhu Loi said.

However, the team coach was hesitatent to speak about the team’s power.

"The team had to scout youngsters after a two-year crisis when relegated in 2008. Although achieving promotion last year, the team’s old squad performed poorly earlier this year, losing all the matches in the championship’s first stage," said the team coach Nguyen Ngoc Manh.

"It’s proving difficult in the championship as our young squad are facing powerhouses including Long An, Thai Binh and Bai Bang in make-or-break matches," Manh says, adding that newly-recruited Thai players could strengthen the team’s attacks.

"We’ll just try our best every match. I hope the young squad will prove eager to show off their power on court over the course of the seven-day competition," said the team captain Nguyen Thi Hoa.

The 21-year-old, the only and remainder of the previously prosperous Ha Noi Post Office team, added she and her young team-mates would repeat the team’s domination, and restore their club’s reputation as a powerhouse for over the past four decades.

The team are currently training 32 elite players in three age groups of between 13-17.

Pham Thi Ha, 17, has been promoted to the senior team after just one year.

"I hope to be named in the first-team squad this year. I’ve made great efforts to break through into the first team," Ha said.

Money boost

The capital team officially inked a one-year sponsorship with the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV), which brings the club one step closer to turning professional.

"The new sponsorship will give us a boost for the championship, and will help foster the team’s development in the coming years," the team coach, Manh said.

"We’re aiming to develop ourselves into one of the top four volleyball teams by 2013. Competing in top competitions will provide us with prolonged sponsorship for future generations of players to break through," he stressed.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News