Wushu champs draw 21 teams

Twenty-one teams have registered to compete at the Asian Wushu Championships at the HCM City-based Phu Tho Gymnasium from August 19-26.

Viet Nam will send 24 athletes to compete at the four-day event.

World gold medallist Nguyen Thanh Tung, world and Asian Games silver medallists Nguyen Quoc Khanh and Nguyen Xuan Hiep have been named in the Viet Nam team.

China, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are expected to field strong teams.

Earlier, the National Junior Wushu Championships will take place from August 14-18 at the same venue with the participation of around 400 martial artists from 40 teams nationwide.

Two young Vietnamese footballers set to join Aspire Academy

Two Vietnamese young football players have been chosen to join a month-long training course at Qatar's Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence. The two footballers, Hoang The Tai from Viettel Club and Pham Trong Hoa from PVF Club, were the top players at the Football Dreams programme, which concluded in HCM City recently.

Tai and Hoa will compete with other young international players for three-year scholarships granted by the Aspire Academy early next year.

This non-for-profit programme, which began in May and attracted around 60,000 boys aged between 13-14 from across the country, will offer participants free training for three years at the academy. In addition, trainees will receive a monthly salary and their families will also receive nearly VND150 million (US$7,000) per year.

Last year, the programme also attracted about 60,000 boys aged between 13-15. The winners were Nguyen Minh Hung from Binh Duong and Nguyen Phong Hong Duy from Binh Phuoc.

Football Dreams, a recruiting project that nurtures and develops young footballing talent, is in its fifth year in Viet Nam, organised by the Qatar's Aspire Academy and the Viet Nam Football Federation.

The unique scouting project is aimed at identifying future talent in world football. Since its 2007 launch, Aspire's Football Dreams project has tested over 700,000 young footballers from Asia, South America and Africa.

Da Nang-born Nguyen Thai Sung was the first Vietnamese player to receive a three-year scholarship at the Academy. He has been named in Viet Nam's 26-man squad in preparation for the AFF U19 Football Championships slated for September 2-8 in HCM City.

SGXT named ‘team of the month'

Sai Gon Xuan Thanh (SGXT) won The Team of the Month title for July, announced the V-League Eximbank organising board yesterday, Aug 9.

SHB Da Nang and Ha Noi T&T came second and third.

With three wins and one draw in July, SGXT stand third in the V-League on 44 points.

Vissai Ninh Binh coach Nguyen Van Sy won the Coach of the Month award, while SHB Da Nang's Nicolas Hernandez took Player of the Month.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News