Flag raising heralds Asian Games opening

Viet Nam's flag will be raised in the Asian Games Village, Guangzhou, China, tomorrow, Nov 11, as a prelude to the opening ceremony the next day when a representative 150-strong squad of Vietnamese athletes and officials will parade.

The men's U-23 football team beat Bahrain 3-1 in a Group B match played as a curtain-raiser to the games on Monday.

The team ranks second to Iran, who beat Turkmenistan 4-1.

Viet Nam's flag will be raised in the Asian Games Village, Guangzhou, China, tomorrow. (Photo: VTC)

Viet Nam has named a 260-member squad to compete in 27 of the 42 events at the 16th Asian Games from Friday until November 27.

The team expects to win from four to six gold medals and finish 20th of the 45 participating countries and territories.

The team will officially leave for the games today and tomorrow.

HCM City to reward gold medal winners

The HCM City Culture, Sports and Tourism Department will provide a cash supplement of VND480 million (US$24,000) for gold medal winners at the Asian Games.

Following the new policy that the city approved earlier this year, each athlete from the city to win a gold medal will receive a VND10 million ($500) allowance each month for four years on top of existing salaries, nutrition budgets and separate awards.

The national sports administration also announced a one off lump sum of VND30 million ($1,500) for gold medal winners, in addition to VND45 million ($2,200) from the Government.

National team to play charity football match

Viet Nam's national football team will play a friendly against Hai Phong Cement to raise money for flood victims in the central region, the Viet Nam Football Federation has announced.

The charity match, which will take place at Hai Phong City's Lach Tray Stadium on Saturday, is expected to raise VND700 million (US$35,000) from ticket sales and donations.

The match is also part of the national team's preparations for the ASEAN Football Federation-AFF Suzuki Cup next month.

Student basketball tournament begins

The HCM City Student Basketball Tournament – MILO Cup 2010 opens today drawing participants from primary, secondary and high schools throughout the city.

The championship, which is part of the HCM City Student Sports Tournament 2010-11, is being organised by the city's Basketball Federation and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It is being sponsored by Nestle Viet Nam.

The tournament, has four divisions – primary, 6th to 7th grade, 8th to 9th grade and high school. They will be competing for eight first prizes, eight second prizes and 16 third prizes.

There are also prizes for best individual and team. The competition ends on November 22.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News