Cuong wins golden pistol

Hai Duong Province's Tran Quoc Cuong won a gold medal at the National Shooting Championships in Ha Noi yesterday, Nov 21.

Cuong dominated the men's pistol event with 655.3 points, leaving Olympian Hoang Xuan Vinh of the Army far behind in second place.

Vinh, one of the most experienced marksmen on the national team, who set a national record (658.5 points) at the London Games three months ago, earned only 640.6 points.

HCM City hosts national muay tourney

The second National Muay Championship opened in Ho Chi Minh City on November 22.

It has drawn 112 athletes, including 72 male and 40 female competitors, of 15 teams from many provinces and cities across the country to compete in 18 different weight categories.

Vietnam muay fighters have won many gold medals at regional and international events.

Son cycles to first stage win

Le Ngoc Son of Domesco Pharmacy Dong Thap 2 won the first stage of the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia cycling tournament yesterday with an overall time of 3:28.44.

The 158km ran from HCM City to Can Tho City.

After the first 40km, 20 cyclists broke away from the pack. With 15km to go, eight cyclists separated from the leading group and headed to the finish together.

Son beat Le Van Dong of Can Tho to the finish line to claim the yellow jersey. Nguyen Nam Cuc of Eximbank HCM City 2 came in third. Dong also holds the green jersey with 18 points.

Today they compete along the 185km second stage from Can Tho City to Soc Trang City and back to Vinh Long Province's Vung Liem District.

Minh goes through to round two

Viet Nam's top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh had a good start in the first round of the Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open yesterday, with a win over Ng Ka Long.

Minh, seeded No 8, easily finished his opponent off in 33 minutes, winning 21-13, 21-18.

Charity run raises funds

The annual Terry Fox Run will return to HCM City this Saturday and to Ha Noi in early December, organisers have announced.

In HCM City, the event will begin at 7am at Phu My Hung urban area, District 7 and include festivities and on-site registrations, while the event in Ha Noi starts at 7am on December 2 at the main gate of Thong Nhat Park.

The event has raised public awareness about corporate social responsibility and healthcare issues in Viet Nam since 1997.

Last year, the event attracted approximately 12,300 participants in HCM City and another 7,000 in Ha Noi and raised more than VND2.4 billion (US$110,000) for cancer and heart disease research and treatment.

Drivers set for off-road adventure

Two teams from Viet Nam will compete in Malaysia's Rainforest Challenge, an international off-road event next month.

More than 50 teams from 30 countries will take part in the challenge, which is designed to bring four-wheel drive enthusiasts together from around the world. Participants can join eight different categories, and the Vietnamese teams will join the 2,000cc or under and the 2,001-3,000cc groups.

Drivers will be faced with the ultimate aim of successfully completing an off-road adventure over 10 days, starting from December 1. Special stages will occur throughout the course to test the skill of competitors with extreme off-road conditions.

VNN/VOV/VNS