Vovinam coaches travel to Laos

Vietnamese traditional martial art (vovinam) coaches are training the Lao team in preparation for the World Vovinam Championships in HCM City in July and the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia this November.

The Vietnamese coaching team includes Nguyen Tan Nghia, Nguyen Thanh Sang and Nguyen Thi Tuyet Loan.

Vovinam was created by master Nguyen Loc in 1938 and there are two different disciplines, competition and performance. It was recently introduced to Laos and Cambodia.

Shooter comes fifth at World Cup

Photo: VOV

Thanh scored 582 points to rank first in the qualifying round, but failed to carry that momentum through to the final.

It was a personal best score for the Vietnamese on his debut at the event.

Last year, Tran Quoc Cuong finished fourth in the men's 50m free pistol at the Beijing World Cup.

Children to join Arsenal festival

The Vinamilk-Arsenal Soccer school in HCM City is offering students a chance to take part in the Arsenal International Soccer Festival in London, England, from July 23-31, at the Royal Holloway University in Surrey.

Fifteen students aged between 10 and 18 will go on the seven-day trip, where they will compete against other teams from around the world.

During the festival, students will also have chance to visit to the home of Arsenal, the Emirates Stadium.

The HCM City-based school, which was part of a training programme set up by the Arsenal Soccer School and the Viet Nam Milk Corporation, is the only official community football school in HCM City.

The school will open its fourth campus at HCM City Police Sports Centre on Sunday.

VN tread water in rankings

Viet Nam stood still at 134th in the FIFA football rankings released on Wednesday, having not competed for the past month.

In Southeast Asia, Viet Nam are third behind Thailand (120th) and Indonesia (130th). Both Malaysia and Singapore slid six places to 144th and 145th in the world, respectively.

The world rankings are still led by Spain, followed by the Netherlands and Brazil.

Lien Viet take Hung Vuong Cup

Lien Viet Bank beat VTV Binh Dien Long An 3-1 in the women's final on Wednesday to take the Hung Vuong Volleyball Cup.

Both teams performed well amidst thunderous applause from thousands of enthusiastic spectators at the Viet Tri Gymnasium in the province of Phu Tho.

In the first set, Long An took an early lead, but Lien Viet Bank produced a spectacular comeback to seal the win 25-14.

Long An changed their tactics and made several substitutes in the second set, which proved effective, winning 25-20.

However, that was the last of Long An's resistance, as Lien Viet Bank quickly regained control, taking the final sets 25-17 and 25-19.

In the third-place playoff in the men's event, Borderguard Sacombank defeated Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group 3-0.

VN stars to take aim in Asia

Hanoian Nguyen Phuc Long and HCM City's Lim Leng will participate in the World Billiard 10-ball Championships in the Philippines from May 9-15 and the Asian Carom Billiard Championships in Seoul, South Korea, from May 17-19.

At present, Viet Nam don't have any billiard players in the world top 20, so the Vietnamese competitors must make it to the quarter-finals of one of the Asian events to qualify for the World Individual Carom Billiard Championship in Peru from June 12-16.

Viet Nam's leading billiard players are Duong Anh Vu and Ly The Vinh who are ranked 30th and 41st in the world, respectively.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News