Van Ngoc Tu ranks 45th in world Judoka ranking

Viet Nam's top judoka Van Ngoc Tu stands 45th in the world with 160 points in the women's 48kg weight category, according to the latest World Judo Federation's ranking.

Her standing comes after she bagged the first bronze medal ever for Vietnamese judo at the recent Asian Championships in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

According to experts, if she can maintain her position, it is very likely that she will be eligible to participate in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The Soc Trang-based martial artist said she will be working hard to make her big dream come true and she will attend more international tournaments to accumulate more points and solidify her current position.

Seen as the ‘queen of judo' in Viet Nam, the 24-year-old has already conquered four consecutive Southeast Asian (SEA) Games by winning gold medals since the 22nd SEA Games held in Viet Nam in 2003.

HCM City excel in national Chinese chess tourney

HCM City triumphed at the National Youth Chinese Chess Tournament in the northern province of Quang Ninh's Ha Long City.

They took the lead with 12 golds, six silvers and six bronzes in the individual and team's standard events. They brought home 13 golds, six silvers and five bronzes in the individual and team's rapid events.

HCM City's Le Anh Hao and Nguyen Minh Nhat Quang, who are the most outstanding athletes of the competition, will represent Viet Nam to take part in the Asian Youth Chinese Chess Championship 2012.

Vinh Long table tennis event begins with a bounce

The Vinh Long Table Tennis Open, Thien Phu Hung Cup, kicked off yesterday at the southern province of Vinh Long's gymnasium.

The three-day tournament attracted 49 strong teams from Vinh Long, HCM City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long An, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Tien Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho and Tra Vinh.

The event, which also drew the nation's rising talents such as Ly Tieu Lan and Nguyen Phi Vu from Tien Giang, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh Phong from HCM City and Vinh Long's Vo Ngoc Ngan Thanh, will last until tomorrow.

V-League Titans meet in would-be ‘final'

The V-League will be back in action this weekend with the so-called ‘final match' between two former champions, Song Lam Nghe An and SHB Da Nang at Chi Lang Stadium in the central city of Da Nang.

Nghe An, who currently top the table, have prepared carefully for the match in which they are the visitors.

Coach Nguyen Huu Thang has a near full strength squad at his disposal, with key players having featured for the national team in Viet Nam's two victories over Macau last week.

"Despite travelling a lot we are still excited and 100 per cent ready to meet Da Nang," said midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang.

Captain Nguyen Huy Hoang is Thang's main injury concern, but he has more than adequate replacements in the form of Nguyen Hoang Helio and Ho Ngoc Luan.

Up front, Kavin is sidelined because of injury but Jamaican strikers Devon and Fagan have formed a deadly partnership, together knocking six past Dong Thap in their last match.

The match has been picked as the turning point of the season, and if Nghe An win, they have a good chance of regaining their crown.

Sponsor Bac A Bank has hung a huge bonus on the title, and according to an unidentified source, it would be record figure of VND1 billion (US$50,000).

Nghe An have 39 points while Da Nang, in second place, have 32. In the first fixture, Nghe An won 1-0.

U16 Vietnam lose 0-5 to Singapore

The Vietnamese U16 football team lost 0-5 to Singapore on July 8 in their first match at the U16 Southeast Asian Football Championships, which is taking place in Laos from July 7-20.

Defending champions Vietnam are competing in Group B, which also includes Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Singapore.

Cambodia defeated the Filipino squad 2-1 on July 8, but Singapore are the current leaders of Group B.

Vietnam will meet Cambodia in their second match on July 12. The team will then play the Philippines on July 14 and Myanmar on July 16.

HCM City badminton team to attend US Open

A team from the Ho Chi Minh City Badminton Federation led by its Deputy Chairwoman Huynh Ngoc Lien has travelled to the US on July 7 to compete at the 2011 US Open Badminton Championships.

She will be accompanied by international referee Hoang Thi Thu Ha and badminton players Nguyen Tien Minh, Nguyen Hoang Nam and Tran Thanh Hai.

Lien said that Minh has high hopes for the tournament while other players will consider it a chance for them to gain valuable experience.

National football team gathers for training

Vietnam’s national football team will gather for its second training course in Ho Chi Minh City on July 17 to prepare for the 2014 World Cup second qualifiers.

In the first leg, Vietnam will meet Qatar in Doha on July 23. The team will play another match against Qatar in the second leg at My Dinh stadium in Hanoi on July 28.

The national squad is scheduled to have six training sessions before flying to Qatar for the first-leg match on July 20.

The team is due to arrive back in Vietnam on July 25 for their match with Qatar in the second leg.

Vietnam to attend international Olympiads

Twenty-three Vietnamese students will attend five international Olympiads this July, according to the Ministry of Education and Training.

The biology and chemistry teams left on July 8 for the 22nd International Biology Olympiad in Taiwan and the 43rd Chemistry Olympiad in Turkey .

Other teams will leave for the 42nd Physics Olympiad in Thailand, the 52nd Math Olympiad in the Netherlands and the 23rd Information Technology Olympiad in Thailand.

Vietnam sets record at ASEAN School Games

The Vietnamese team bagged 20 gold medals from the week-long ASEAN School Games which concluded in Singapore on July 7.

Track-and-field athletes from the “S-shaped” nation broke their own records, winning 10 gold medals.

The Minister of Education and Labour of host Singapore , Hawazi Daipi, remarked that the most impressive feature was the race between Vietnamese and Thai athletes.

At the 1,500 metre run for girls, for example, Nguyen Thi Bich Tram from Vietnam won the first place with a record of 04:46:34s, less than 0.3 second faster than the record of 04:46:77s set at last year’s games.

Vietnamese gymnasts won eight gold while their fellow table tennis players won two gold medals.

The event drew almost 4,000 school boys and girls from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam to compete in six sports -- swimming, table tennis, basketball, track and field, aerobics and tennis.

Tournament draws regional rivals to Central Highlands

The International Women's Volleyball Tournament, VTV-Sun Group Cup will kick off on July 9 at the Buon Ma Thuot city Gymnasium in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

Nine teams have been divided into two groups for the eighth edition of the event. Vietnam are in group A with the Democratic Republic of Korea, Australia and Kazakhstan . Group B consists of teams from Japan , China , the Republic of Korea , Thailand and host VTV Binh Dien Long An.

Teams will compete in a round robin format with the best two teams from each group advancing to the semi-final round.

In the last tournament, Vietnam defeated Ukraine 's Vin group 25-23, 25-15, 20-25, 21-25 to defend their title.

All matches will be aired live on VTV2 and VTV3.

The tournament is considered an important warm-up for the national team under new coach Qiao Yu Chuan before they participate in the 26th Southeast Asian Games later this year in Indonesia .

Quiao, who spent 10 years coaching Chinese club Sichuan , has an array of players at his disposal including 1.83m Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa and attackers Bui Thi Hue, Pham Kim Hue and Pham Thi Yen.