Minh craps out in third round

Vietnamese top badminton player, Nguyen Tien Minh, lost to Hong Kong's Yun Hu in the third round of the men's singles at the Badminton Asian Championships in Qingdao, China yesterday, April 19.
Minh, the Olympian player, lost to his rival, 23-21, 5-21 and 21-17, in the match, which lasted one hour and two minutes.

Indoor golf tournament begins

The first-ever indoor golf tournament will be kicked off in Ha Noi tomorrow.

The five-day event will be held at CityGolf, the first professionally-run indoor golf centre in Viet Nam, using Protee Golf Simulators, which allows people to play golf at any time, regardless of weather conditions.

The system allows golfers to play on HD projections, giving a choice of 75 of the world's most popular courses. With cutting-edge technology, the simulators also provide a detailed analysis of a competitor's swing and ball trajectory, using high-speed cameras and infrared sensors.

Phuoc to train in China

Da Nang swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc will be trained in China after a troubled time spent in the US, according to Lam Quang Thanh, deputy head of the National Sports Administration.

Thanh said the administration and the Da Nang People's Committee decided to bring the athlete home based on his aspirations.

Phuoc, who hoped to reach the London Olympic A standard during a six-month training session in the US, will return home as soon as possible to train in China where Chau Ba Anh Tu will be his practice partner.

The 18-year-old hit the B standard at the Malaysian Swimming Open last year.

At the 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Indonesia in November 2011, Phuoc set a new Games record in the men's 100m butterfly event.

Hoa finishes third in Thai chess tourney

Nguyen Duc Hoa, Vietnamese master chess player took third place, with seven points, at the Bangkok Chess Club Open in the contest that wrapped up yesterday.

In the final round, Hoa had a draw with British Grandmaster Nigel Short, who went on to win the tournament with 7.5 points. His outstanding performance earned him the title of Grandmaster.

In the blitz event, Nguyen Van Huy, finished second with 12 points while Pham Le Thao Nguyen came in eighth, with 6.5 points. Farrukh Amonatov, from Tajikistan, won this event and Chinese Wan Yunguo took the third place.

Minh leaves Dong Tam Long An

Former national team member Tran Cong Minh has resigned as head coach of V-League 1 side Dong Tam Long An (DTLA) because of an internal dispute.

A foreign coach is expected to be chosen to lead the team, who will have a tough job as DTLA hopes to advance to the V-League next season.

Minh had coached the team since early March when the previous coach, Croatian Buketa Ranko, was sacked after two consecutive losses.

This is the third time that Minh, 42, has taken the position as head coach of DTLA, after holding the job in the 2008 and 2010 seasons.

After 14 rounds, the two-time V-League champions have 18 points and rank 10th.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News