Quang Liem misses out on SPICE Cup title

Vietnam chess prodigy Le Quang Liem finished third overall at the 2013 SPICE Cup chess tournament, with a total of six points earned following a nine-game unbeaten run.

Liem got off to a perfect start with consecutive wins in the first three rounds of play before eventually losing steam and recording six draws in a row during the remainder of the tournament.

Turkey’s Alexander Ipatov claimed this year’s championship title with a half-point advantage over Quang Liem, while American Kayden Troff – who also won 6.5 points – placed second with a lower sub-index than the Turkish player.

The seventh edition of the annual tournament took place in the American state of Missouri from October 15-20. Nearly 50 players competed for US$11,000 in total prize money in the nine-round Swiss system event.

U21 Vietnam lose to Sydney FC 4-0

Vietnam’s U21 squad was defeated by Sydney FC 0-4 in an October 19 match in the 7th International Football Tournament framework sponsored by Thanh Nien (Youth) newspaper, which is taking place in Ninh Thuan province.

Vietnamese players made many mistakes leading to the first goal scored by an Australian rival in the 15th minute.

Despite their offensive tactics, the Vietnamese footballers failed to win goals while U21 Sydney FC made three consecutive goals after the 50th minute in the second half.

The last two goals were recorded at the 60th and 74th minute, fixing the final score at 4-0 in favour of Sydney FC.

At an earlier match, U21 Singapore held a 2-2 draw over Malaysia.

Ragamuffin 90 crowned champion at int’l sailing boat race

Ragamuffin 90 from Hong Kong has won the fifth International Hong Kong-Nha Trang Sailing Regatta which closed in the south central province of Khanh Hoa on October 20.

Two other teams from Hong Kong Chiva and Lucky came second and third respectively.

Departing from Hong Kong on October 17, nearly 200 sailors on board 17 boats from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the US and China had to travel over 650 nautical miles (1,200km) before reaching Bao Dai Tourist Resort in Nha Trang City.

Facing the severe weather, Walawala 2 mastered by captain Steve Maning sank on the way but 10 sailors on board were immediately rescued and sent to Hong Kong.

This is the fifth time the race has been held by the Hong Kong Royal Yacht Club, the Vinacapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd, Saigontourist and Saigon Marina Co Ltd. The aim is to promote Vietnam’s tourism to international friends.

Vietnam’s track-and-field aims for 10 golds at SEA Games 27

Vietnam’s track-and-field athletes have set a target of 10 gold medals at the upcoming 27th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 27) slated for December 9-18 in Myanmar, maintaining the country’s place in the region’s top three.

In the previous SEA Games, with nine gold medals, track-in-field brought home the second largest number of golds after gymnastics (11 medals).

This year, as host Myanmar eliminates gymnastics in the list of competition, track-and-field is expected to be the main “gold mine” for Vietnamese sports.

Athletes at the biggest sport competition in the region will compete for 460 sets of medal in 33 sport events, of which track-and-field will account for 46 medal sets. The Vietnam Athletics Federation is hopeful to bag medals in many categories, including women’s 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m run, race walking, high jump and triple-step jump, as well as men’s 800m, 400m sprint, race walking and decathlon.

According to Lam Quang Thanh, deputy head of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training and head of the Vietnamese sports delegation, the country’s track-and-field is capable of earning more than nine gold medals.

Since SEA Games 21 in 2003, Vietnam’s track-and-field has been always placed in the region’s top three.

Tien Minh remains World Number Six

Leading Vietnamese player Nguyen Tien Minh has extended his stay at sixth position in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings.

His loss in the first round of the 2013 Denmark Open had no dramatic repercussions for his standing.  

Minh can even advance if Danish World Number Five Jan Jorgensen does not progress to the Denmark Open’s semifinal.

Tie Minh and Jan Jorgensen are separated by less than 1,000 points. Jorgensen would lose 1,650 points from an early elimination.

The BWF World Rankings were rounded out by Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto in 7th, Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsanan in 8th, China’s Wang Zhengming in 9th, and Germany’s Marc Zwiebler in 10th.

Tien Minh will compete in five more international tournaments over the rest of this year.

Gia Lai win landmark volleyball title

Duc Long Gia Lai won their maiden volleyball title after defeating The Cong 3-1 in the final at the Bac Ninh Indoor Sports Stadium on Sunday night.

Despite starting the final as favourites, Gia Lai faced strong resistance from their opponents and only scraped through the first set 25-23.

The Cong fought back in the second set to win 25-21 and level the match. Gia Lai then recovered to easily claim the third set and restore their lead.

The Cong threw everything they had in the hope of getting back on equal terms, but it wasn't quite enough as they surrendered the set 25-22 to lose the match 3-1.

Viet Nam overcome Malaysia for first futsal win

Viet Nam beat Malaysia 2-1 in Group B of the AFF Futsal Championship on Saturday.

Viet Nam scored against the run of play through Pham Thanh Dat in the seventh minute. Some sustained pressure from Malaysia saw Pham Thanh Tuan turn the ball into his own net before Viet Nam scored what proved to be the winner from Vu Xuan Du in the 14th minute.

The Philippines lead the group after disposing of Brunei 5-3 in the other match.

Today, Viet Nam will play the Philippines.

In Group A, Indonesia won 5-3 over Myanmar, while Laos battled to a 2-2 draw against East Timor in the second game of the afternoon.

Victorious Nam embarks on tennis tour of Asia

Vietnamese champion Ly Hoang Nam will start his international tour at the International Tennis Federation's Chang-LTAT-Juniors Group 2 today in Thailand.

The world junior No 140 is seeded 4. The tournament will start today and wrap-up on October 27.

His next destination is South Korea where he will play at the Lee Duk Hee Cup Chuncheon International Junior Tennis Championships from October 29-November 3.

According to coach Tran Duc Quynh, Nam will take part in as many ITF events as possible to improve his chances at the Australian Open junior category next January.

Nam will have to break into the top 100 to make the qualifying round, while the top 50 will be awarded with automatic spots in the main round.

Joton Club, HCM City win men’s, women’s basketball titles

Ho Chi Minh City won the women’s competition and Joton Club took the men’s crown at the 2013 National Basketball Championships, which concluded on October 19 after ten days of competition.

This year’s event drew 150 players from nine men's teams, including Hau Giang, Can Tho, Soc Trang, Air Defence-Air Force, Tra Vinh, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Jonton Club and hosts Binh Thuan. Three women's teams also competed: Ho Chi Minh City, Soc Trang and Can Tho.

In the men’s event, the teams were divided into two groups, playing in a round robin format from which the top two teams from each group moved on to the semi-finals. Joton Club secured the men's championship title, followed by Ho Chi Minh City and the Air Defence-Air Force squad.

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City came out on top in the women's event, after earning the highest point total in a round robin tournament. Can Tho and Soc Trang came in second and third, respectively.

The annual competition – co-organised by the Vietnam Basketball Federation and the Binh Thuan provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism – is held in part to select outstanding athletes for the national team.