Three Vietnamese volleyballers play for Thailand

Three female Vietnamese volleyball players are performing for two Thai clubs at its national volleyball tournament.

Leading setter Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa is playing for Ayutthaya club, while blocker Do Thi Minh and libero Nguyen Thi Kim Lien are playing for Thai defending champions Idea Khonkaen under three-month contracts.

This is the first time female Vietnamese volleyball players have been hired by foreign clubs.

The three players will return to Vietnam in April 2014 for the national volleyball tournament.

Huynh Quang Vinh, director of Binh Dien Long An club that manages Hoa and Lien, says competing in Thailand will offer the Vietnamese athletes a valuable chance to garner experience for future international competitions.

Thailand are currently Southeast Asian defending champions.

Vien leaves for training in the US

National top swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien will receive up to US$200,000 in funds to support her efforts at improving her chances of winning medals at the upcoming Asian Games (ASIAD).

Vien, who won three gold medals and set two records at last month's SEA Games, has left the country to train at the St Augustine Club in the US.

It is the third American training course for the 17-year-old, who is the first Vietnamese swimmer to have competed at the Olympics in London in 2012.

More Vietnamese are expected to follow Vien to train at the St Augustine club in the future.

The 17th ASIAD will be held in September in Incheon, South Korea. Vien expects to rank among the top three in the events that are considered her forte, the 200m and 400m individual medley.

Tuan fired on New Year's Day

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan of Hai Phong was fired from his post on New Year's Day.

Following a release signed by the club's chairman, Tran Manh Hung, Tuan will no longer handle the V-League's main team and will be responsible for the junior players instead.

There is speculation that the decision represents the climax in a series of persistent disagreements between Hung and Tuan, who have never liked each other ever since Tuan and the Khanh Hoa squad were transferred to Hai Phong in the last season.

"I am fine. In fact, I am not a worker of the Hai Phong Sports Jointstock Company (which owns the Hai Phong club), since I never signed any contract after the transfer. This is an individual decision, which was taken with a view to bully and humiliate me," said Tuan on bongdaplus.vn, adding that other Hai Phong team officials and fans had never behaved so harshly towards him.

The ex-coach stated that he was 99 per cent certain he would soon bid goodbye to the team.

Assistant Nguyen Van Phung will act as the interim coach until a new coach is found.

Vinh to shoot in Kuwait

Hoang Xuan Vinh will be the Vietnamese representative at the seventh Asian Airgun Championships in Kuwait from March 7-13.

Three-time SEA Games winner Vinh will compete in the 10m air pistol event to be held on March 9.

The Olympian won a gold medal with 683.3 points in this competition two years ago in Nanchang, China.