Host Myanmar wins first medal of 27th SEA Games

Myanmar women Chinlone team won the first gold medal of the 27th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) on December 4.

They defeated Thailand in the Women’s Linking event.

Six countries, host Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand are playing in the six-day sport of four Chinlone events from December 4 to 9.

Chinlone is a traditional sport in Myanmar somewhat similar to sepak takraw.

Each member of the six-athlete team enters the circle marked on the floor one after another for dribbling a chinlone with several set touches without letting it fall during 10-minute section.

The teams play three-sets, 10 minutes in each set and every single touch is observed for points or reductions.

The 27th SEA Games, the region’s biggest sports event, will take place from December 11 to 22 with 460 sets of medals at stake. However, some competitions already began on December 1, such as floor ball and Chinlone.

With a combined team of 750 athletes and officials to the Games, Vietnam will compete in 29 of 33 sports events at the tournament, hoping to bring home at least 70 gold medals.

At the last SEA Games held in Jakarta two years ago, Vietnam ranked third, winning 96 gold medals, trailing the host Indonesia with 182 and Thailand with 109.

Vietnam's hopes at int'l badminton tournament

Vietnam's hopes to claim the World Badminton Federation's Yonex-Sunrise Vietnam Open will rest on the shoulders of Nguyen Dinh Tuan Kiet and Pham Cao Cuong after the first round matches in HCM City on December 3.

Kiet advanced to the main draw after winning two qualifying matches, while in the first round, the 18-year-old came from behind to beat China's Binghong Ye 12-21, 21-16, 21-9.

Cuong, who won a wildcard to the main draw, battled for more than one hour to defeat Chia Hung Lu of Chinese Taipei 12-21, 22-20, 21-17.

Nguyen Hong Nam, Vietnam's best remaining hope after top player Nguyen Tien Minh withdrew, was ousted in 13-21, 12-21 defeat by tournament N°6 Wan Ho-son of the Republic of Korea.

Kiet and Wan are scheduled to face off in December 4's draw, while Cuong will play N°3 seed Yan Kit Chan of Hong Kong, who on December 3 won 23-21, 21-16 over Giap Chin Goh from Malaysia.

The main round of the women's competition kicked off on December 4.

The competition provides a 50,000 USD prize pool to winners. The finals are scheduled to take place on December 8 at the Phan Dinh Phung Gymnasium.

Huyen fights back to reach second round

Vietnamese badminton hopeful Le Thu Huyen overcame Lin Ying Chun to move into the second round at the Viet Nam Open yesterday.

The 19-year-old player beat her Chinese Taipei opponent 18-21, 21-16, 21-16 in the first round to become the only Vietnamese player to reach the second round in the women's singles event.

Vu Thi Trang made a first-round exit following a 21-18, 21-9 defeat by Hung Shih Han of Chinese Taipei.

In the men's doubles, Duong Bao Duc and Nguyen Hoang Nam also advanced to the second round after beating Hong Kong's Dick Long Chan and Chin Chung Or 21-11, 21-14.

They will next play qualifiers Kah Ming Chooi and Ee Yi Teo from Malaysia today.

In the women's doubles, Nguyen Thi Sen and Vu Thi Trang beat Serithammarak Artima and Patchanut Krajangjit of Thailand 23-21, 14-21, 21-17.

Yesterday was not a good day for Vietnamese players.

In the mixed doubles, Dao Manh Thang and Pham Nhu Thao were eliminated in the first round by Lee Sang Joon and Yoo Hae Won of South Korea.

Pham Ngoc Thiet and Nguyen Thi Be Tram also failed to progress after losing to Tseng Min Hao and Lai Chia Wen of Chinese Taipei, while Pham Chi Thien and Ton Nu Khai Thu suffered the same fate at the hands of South Korean duo Choi Sol Kyu and Chae Yoo Jung.

Contrary to the disappointing performances from local players, most top-seeded players demonstrated their power by marching into the second round.

In the mixed doubles event, third-seeded duo Liao Chih Hsun and Chen Hsiao Huan of Chinese Taipei easily book their place in the second round with a 21-11, 21-11 victory over Bae Kwon Young and Park So Young of South Korea.

Fourth-seeded pair Lin Chia Yu and Wang Pei Rong of Chinese Taipei reached the second round with a 21-15, 22-20 over Malaysians Khalid Mohd Lutfi Zaim Abdul and Anscelly Amelia Alicia.