Nam moves onto Coffee Bowl third round

Ly Hoang Nam of Viet Nam defeated Robert Levine of the US 6-1, 6-3 in the second round of the ITF's Coffee Bowl yesterday in Costa Rica.

The No 4 seed also learned of his higher position in the world junior ranking. The 16-year-old Nam is now the No 72 seed, jumping 24 rankings.

He will next meet Tim van Rijthoven of the Netherlands, who won 6-4, 7-6 over No 11 seed Lucas de Torres from Argentina.

Minh defeats Hong Kong rival at Korea Open

Top Vietnamese badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh on January 8 outperformed his Hong Kong rival Hu Yun who had previously beat Minh three times.

Hu Yun took lead in the first minutes despite fierce attack from Minh, but was then beaten 22-24 in the first set.

Minh took advantage of Hu Yun’s injury and went on to win 11-4 in the second set.

This was Minh’s fourth win out of eight, competing against the world No.4 player..

Minh expects to improve his position in the upcoming Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings.

His rivals in the second round will be world No.127 Hong Soo Hwang of the Republic of Korea, who outplayed world No19 Rajiv Ouseph of England.

Striker Bryan comes to V-League's Ninh Binh

After some days of uncertainty, striker Kavin Bryan has signed a one-year contract with V-League's Ninh Binh for the new season, which starts nationwide later this week.

The former Jamaican national team player is the fourth new member of the team, who lost their most important forward, Sannogo Moussa, to a torn ligament. Moussa will have surgery, but will not return in time for the tournament.

"Bryan is a speedy player with a remarkable physique. He will make a good pair with Patiyo Tambwe in the front, creating more opportunities for Ninh Binh," said coach Nguyen Van Sy.

Bryan, 29, has played in the V-League for a number of years. He competed for Song Lam Nghe An last year and Hai Phong previously.

Duan pedals to second stage win of Ben Tre cycling tournament

Le Van Duan of Eximbank HCM City 1 yesterday claimed the top spot in the 112km second stage from Can Tho City to Bac Lieu City in the National Men's Cycling Tournament – Ben Tre Television Cup after a 2hr 40min 36sec slog and clocking an average speed of 41.843km/h .

Second place went to Mai Nguyen Hung of Eximbank HCM City 1 with Le Nguyet Minh of Eximbank HCM City 2 coming in third.

After two stages, Hung stole the yellow jersey from Pham Phat Dat of host Ben Tre in 5hours and 35 minutes, while Dat came runner-up with the same record. Third place went to Le Van Dong clocking 5hr 35min 09sec.

Eximbank HCM City 2 had the lead after two stages in a time just clearing 16hr 45min, while second place went to ADC – Vinh Long Television 2. They were followed by Domesco Pharmacy Dong Thap 1 and VTV Can Tho.

The third stage, which spans 137km from Bac Lieu City to Vi Thanh City of Hau Giang, will continue this morning.