National bicycle, motorbike tourney concludes

The National Bicycle and Motorbike Championships concluded in Vung Tau City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, on October 22 after six days of fierce competition.

Bicyclists and motorbike riders for the Vietnam team competing at the 26th SEA Games will be selected from this event, which was organized by the Vietnam Bicycle and Motorbike Federation and the Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

Most of the tournament's top individual and team medals went to the traditionally strong teams including An Giang, Vinh Long, Dong Thap, Binh Duong, Can Tho, and Ho Chi Minh City.

The athletes competed in a range of events such as the women’s 80km individual and team races, the men’s 164km individual and team events, the women’s 30km and men’s 50km races, and the men’s and women’s 500m speed events.

A total of eight teams participated in this year’s championships.

National Muay tournament begins

One hundred and ten boxers from 14 provinces and cities nationwide, including the world champion, are taking part in the first National Muay (Thai boxing) Championships that opened in Ho Chi Minh City on October 22.

Internationally known boxers who have won world class medals, such as Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat (2010 and 2011 world amateur champion) and Phan Thi Ngoc Linh (first runner-up at the world championships) are participating in the tournament.

The tournament will include 104 matches in 11 men’s weight categories and seven women’s weight categories.

Experts predict this year’s titles are likely to go to boxers from Ho Chi Minh City who have taken the lead in developing Muay in Vietnam.

The tournament is being held by the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and the Ho Chi Minh City Muay Association.

Early exit for Tien Minh at Yonex Denmark Open

Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam, the world’s number 7, bowed out of the Yonex Denmark Open badminton tournament after his 2-1 loss in the second round to Japanese Sho Sasaki, ranked number 9 in the world.

After falling 21-13 in the first set, Minh muscled up for a 21-15 win in the second set to level it 1-1 before entering the last decisive set.

They took turns to win point by point and the Japanese man proved his rank to surpass Minh 23-21.

This marks the third loss of Minh over Sasaki in the recent eight encounters. Minh gained victory in the other five remaining meets.

The US$400,000 tournament from October 18-23 is one of the 12 editions in the Super Series system sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation.

Minh is scheduled to take part in another event, the Yonex French Open in Paris from Oct.25-30 before competing at the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia from November 7-22.

In June this year, Minh had halted his cruise at the Indonesia Open Superseries Premier 2011 after losing 10-21 14-21 at the quarterfinals by Lee Chong Wei on Friday.

Liem loses to Lienier Dominguez

Vietnamese top chess player Le Quang Liem lost to Lienier Dominguez from Cuba in his fifth match at the Spice Cup in the US on Thursday.

Grandmaster Liem, who has an Elo rating of 2717, was defeated in 59 moves by Dominguez, Elo 2710.

After his loss, Liem now ranks second in Group A with eight points. Dominguez has taken the lead with nine points. George Meier, Ray Robson and Yury Shulman trail with six points each.

The two-time Aeroflot champion Liem is scheduled to meet Shulman in his next match.

The Spice Cup, which will last until October 25, set a minimum of Elo 2583 as an entrance requirement, and thus boasts the highest average Elo in the history of US tournaments.

An Giang triumph at Delta games

An Giang have triumphed at the Mekong Delta Sports Games for a fourth time, winning 71 gold, 54 silver and 44 bronze medals.

Can Tho came in second with 49 golds, 70 silvers and 63 bronzes, while Dong Thap finished third with 45 golds, 38 silvers and 44 bronzes.

The event attracted 2,648 athletes from 13 provinces and cities in the region, who competed in a combined 27 events.

Hoa Sen Group sponsors football

Hoa Sen Group will continue to sponsor the National Football Cup 2012 and First Division Football League 2012, the Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) has confirmed.

Under the contract signed between the group and VFF on Thursday, next year's National Cup will be named ‘National Football Cup-Hoa Sen Plastic 2012', and the First Division football title will be known as ‘Ton Hoa Sen Cup 2012'.

Twenty-five teams will play in the National Cup, 14 from the V-League and 11 from the First Division. The event will kick off on December 18 and conclude on August 26, 2012.

The First Division event will start on December 31 and conclude on August 18 next year, with 14 participating teams.

Hoa Sen sponsored the national squad during the 2007 AFF Cup and has been a supporter of Viet Nam's referee programmes.

The group also sponsored disadvantaged children's football tournaments and the SOS children's village football tournaments.

Hanoi 9-Ball Pool Open kicks off

The 2011 Hanoi 9-Ball Pool Open tournament kicked off at the Trinh Hoai Duc Gymnasium on October 22.

The event attracts 24 top players from across the country including Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) champions Luong Chi Dung and Nguyen Phuc Long.

The tournament is held in preparation for the upcoming SEA Games in Indonesia next month.

The top six qualifiers from the first round will go on to compete against 18 seeds on October 25-27.

The winner of the event, which lasts until October 27, will take home VND40 million (US$2,000).

VN women set to battle Myanmar

Viet Nam will face Myanmar in the semi-final at the Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship in Vientiane, Laos, today, October 23.

Although many young players are taking part in the game as a result of the departure of veteran players, Viet Nam are still too strong for other teams in the group A.

They reached the semi-final after scoring 27 goals and conceding only one.

After 9-1 and 4-0 wins over Singapore and Laos, Viet Nam thrashed Indonesia 14-0 in the its final group match at Lao National Stadium in Vientiane on Thursday to secure the semifinal berth as the group winner.

Viet Nam are favourites over Myanmar, which took second place in group B after suffering a defeat by Thailand yesterday.

Hosts Laos took the runner-up spot in group A after beating Singapore 5-0 in the final group A match of the AFF Women's Championship 2011.

However, the chances are slim for Laos to reach the final for the first time because they will have to face the title favourite Thailand in the semifinal game.

TA