Binh Thuan hosts National Vovinam Championships

The 2012 National Vovinam Championships opened in the southern province of Binh Thuan on September 18.
     
350 martial artists from 29 teams nationwide, ages 17 to 35, will compete in two events: combat and demonstration, to win 99 sets of medals.

The event, co-organised by the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, the Vietnam Vovinam Federation and Binh Thuan’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will last through to September 23.   

The organizing board said it will be very exciting to see tough fighting by strong rivals coming from Khanh Hoa, Dak Lak, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, among whom some have attended international events.

The best artists will be selected to join the national team in training for regional and international tournaments later this year.

Viet Nam to go against Laos in regional semi-finals

Viet Nam will play Laos in the semi-finals of the Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship tomorrow (Sep 20) in HCM City.

The hosts are at the top of group B after three wins while the visitors rank second in group A after their loss of 0-3 to Thailand in the last group round match yesterday.

In the later semis, defending champions Thailand will play powerhouse Myanmar.

Yokoyama Minoru, executive director of the Japanese Speranza Osaka Takatsuki football club, came to watch the championship matches yesterday with a view to recruit Southeast Asian players, especially the Vietnamese, for his team.

The director appreciated Vietnamese players better than those from Laos and Myanmar. Strikers Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet and Nguyen Thi Hoa made strong impress on Minoru and he said midfielder Le Thi Thuong and goalie Dang Thi Kieu Trinh were also skilled players.

Minoru said the Vietnamese definitely could play in Japan but they had to improve their physique a lot to meet the high demands of the league.

Track & field champs near

Nearly 400 athletes in 42 teams will take part in the National Track and Field Championships at Ha Noi-based My Dinh National Stadium from October 4-9.

Asian 800m champion Truong Thanh Hang has withdrawn from the meeting, after being seriously injured when she was hit by a motorbike while running with teammates in Da Nang.

Ecke to lecture to sportsmen

German trainer Achim Ecke will visit Viet Nam to lecture to Vietnamese track-and-field athletes and coaches for a month from November 25 at Ha Noi's National Sport Training Centre No 1.

During his career, Ecke has lectured at the University of Leipzig and used to be head coach for the German national track-and-field team.

The course will be a warm-up for a second project between two athletics federations.

The first project from 2009-11 under former German decathlete and training expert Uwe Freimuth is credited with the successful achievements of the Vietnamese athletes who grabbed medals at the 16th ASIAD in Guangzhou, China two years ago.

Aerobics team set for Bangkok

Vietnamese athletes will compete in the upcoming Asian Aerobic Championships in Bangkok from October 15.

The event will come on the heels of the national aerobic tournament in Hai Phong City on October 3-8.

The team will include Vu Ba Dong, Nguyen Thu Ha and Nguyen Tien Phuong, who are looking to build on their performance at the World Aerobic Championships in Bulgaria earlier this year where they finished fifth out of 32 teams.