Int’l Boat Racing Festival underway in Mui Ne

The 2011 International Boat Racing Festival, titled “Boat, Sea, Sand and Sun” officially opened in Mui Ne in the southern province of Binh Thuan on March 17.

At the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said this is the first festival of its kind ever held in Vietnam, creating opportunities for Binh Thuan and Vietnam as a whole to develop sea tourism and sailboat technology.   

Binh Thuan should increase economic exchanges and build a roadmap to attract foreign investors to its areas of strength, he said.

The highlights of the festival include a gala on promoting sailboat technology, sail boat performances by international teams from Hon Rom to Phan Thiet port, a light performance at Park Diamond hotel, a music show on Mui Ne beach stage and a scientific seminar on building Vietnam’s sea trade mark.

The festival, which is part of activities in response to the National Tourism Year 2011, will last until March 20.

FA Cup to be displayed in Viet Nam

The world famous FA Cup will go on display in Ha Noi and HCM City from March 25-31, following an agreement signed on January 29 by the Football Association of England and the Viet Nam Football Federation.

The tour will be a chance for Vietnamese fans to hold the Cup, the most famous and oldest domestic trophy in the world.

Fans will also get the chance to meet former Liverpool and Real Madrid star Steve McManaman and Chelsea's Ashley Cole.

During the exhibition, artistic and cultural activities will be also organised showing the most memorable games, most spectacular goals and unforgettable moments of the FA Premier League's top four teams – Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.

The first FA Cup was held in the 1871-1872 season and after 140 years, as many as 759 British football teams have participated in it.

T&T beat Maldives champs Victory SC

Ha Noi T&T pocketed an easy 2-0 win against Victory SC, the Maldives champs, on Wednesday in Ha Noi.

Striker Duy Nam scored during the seventh minute and Cao Sy Cuong added another goal during extra time.

Victory SC were unable to create any magic on the field and spent most of the match trying to resist T&T's consecutive attacks.

"There were problems with scoring. Many opportunities were set up but Matias Recio missed two, Van Quyet missed two, while Ngoc Duy failed to convert three goals," said coach Phan Thanh Hung.

The victory was the first for Viet Nam's V-League defending champion in the international arena.

In the next round, they will play Tampines Rovers of Singapore on April 12 who drew with Thai Muang Thong United 1-1 on Wednesday.

VN to play Hong Kong at Olympic qualifiers

Viet Nam will play Hong Kong during their first match at the Olympics' first qualifying round today in Chinese Taipei.

Despite training this month with coach Chen Yun Fat, the team will play without striker Minh Nguyet who suffered a foot injury while her teammate Hong Linh will not play because of illness.

In group A, Viet Nam will play Myanmar on Sunday, Thailand on March 25 and host Taipei two days later.

SEA Games champion Thanh retires

Martial artist Nguyen Ngoc Thanh announced his retirement from international competition.

Thanh said he needed time to focus on his academic studies during his final year at the Tu Son Sports College.

The three-time SEA Games gold medallist also grabbed titles at the Asian Martial Art Festival 2010 in the men's 67kg category.

His retirement forced the national team managers to select young athletes such as Nguyen Van Su and Nguyen Minh Phung to replace him in the future tournaments.

VNN/VOV/VNS