U-19 team dominate Indonesia at AFF cup

The national U-19 team defeated Indonesia 6-1 for a first place ranking in Group B at the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U-19 Championship in Myanmar.

"The score is very wonderful, but our main goal is to earn three points," said coach Trieu Quang Ha.

In earlier matches, Viet Nam drew with hosts Myanmar 1-1 and demolished Brunei 7-0.

A strong win against Indonesia was unexpected for Viet Nam but the team were confident from the opening minutes after two quick goals.

Nguyen Thanh Hien's header opened the scoring with a quick follow up by Nguyen Xuan Nam from outside of the restricted area.

In the 13th minute, Zoel Fhadli of Indonesia narrowed the score to boost his team's hopes but Ngoc Hai retaliated for Viet Nam to raise the score to 3-1 prior to the half time whistle.

After the break, Sy Sam made a long shot into the goal for a 4-1 lead.

Sam and Phan Dinh Thang fixed the score 6-1 for Viet Nam in the 57th and 59th minute, respectively.

"We committed a lot of errors," Indonesia's coach Zulkilfi Alfat admitted.

"Taking two losses in the first minutes affected our team's concentration."

Viet Nam will meet Laos, who currently rank second, for the last Group B match on Friday.

Viet Nam are in group B with Laos, Indonesia, Brunei and the hosts Myanmar. Thailand are in Group A with Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Cambodia.

Military triumph at national karatedo event

Photo: Internet

The team brought home seven gold, four silver and two bronze medals. Ha Noi followed in second place with two golds less while the Ministry of Public Security came in third with three golds, one silver and five bronzes.

The tournament attracted the nation's best martial artists including Asian Games 15 and 16 gold medallists Vu Thi Nguyet Anh and Le Bich Phuong as well as defending Southeast Asian (SEA) Games champions Nguyen Minh Phung and Nguyen Van Su.

The best athletes from the six-day event will be chosen to compete in the upcoming 26th SEA Games in Indonesia this November, said Vu Son Ha, head of karatedo section of the National Sports Administration.

Viet Nam win bronze at ISTAF Super Series event

Viet Nam's female sepak takraw team won a bronze medal at the ISTAF Super Series which wrapped up in Bangkok on Sunday with a 3-0 (15-5, 17-15, 16-14) win over Japan.

To reach the playoffs Viet Nam had strong showings against India, South Korea, and China in Group B, with only one loss to South Korea.

Viet Nam lost to Thailand, who ranked first in Group A, 0-3 (9-15, 11-15, 9-15) in their semi-final match up.

The hosts triumphed in both men's and women's events.

Viet Nam draw with South Korea at AFC U-16 tourney

Viet Nam tied with strong rival South Korea in their Group F qualifying match for the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship on Monday.

Hwang Hee-cha opened the score for South Korea in the 27th minute while Ngoc Son levelled the score for Viet Nam in the 74th minute with a penalty kick.

Viet Nam will continue to meet Laos today, Cambodia on Saturday, and Chinese Taipei on September 19.

Forty teams were divided into two zones and separated into seven groups of five or six teams each. Each group will play one round at a centralised venue with the top two teams from each group moving on to the tournament.

The top three teams from the West and East zones will complete in the 16-team line at the 2012 finals.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News