VN archers win gold at Grand Prix

Vietnamese archers' golden dreams came true on Wednesday when Nguyen Tien Cuong and Nguyen Thi Xuan Huong won a gold in the mixed doubles in the three-stringed compound bow event in the first round of the Asian Archery Grand Prix in Thailand.

Vietnamese archers triumphed over their Kazakh rivals in the final.

Earlier, Cuong snatched a silver medal in the men's singles compound event. A gold medallist in the same event in 2008, Cuong, and his teammates also pocketed a silver medal in the men's team event.

More than 230 archers from 27 nations participated in the tournament. Viet Nam sent seven athletes including four men and three women, finishing the tournament with one gold and two silvers.

A rowing training sets at Nui Coc Lake

A rowing training centre in the northern province of Thai Nguyen is set to be completed next month before hosting the national rowing and canoeing championships.

The centre, the fourth in Viet Nam, is situated on Nui Coc Lake and will be an ideal venue for rowing, kayaking and canoeing throughout the year.

"The centre will provide better conditions for Vietnamese athletes to train for domestic and international competitions. Nui Coc Lake, 80km west of Ha Noi, has a temperate climate and will enable us to get the best out of our athletes," said the head of rowing at the national sports administration, Nguyen Hai Duong.

Centres have already been set up in Ha Noi, Da Nang and Hai Phong.

At the Asian Games in China last year, Vietnamese athletes won two silver medals in the women's rowing event, the first time Viet Nam has won medals in the sport at the Games.

In 2004, Vietnamese athlete Doan Thi Cach made it to the semi-finals of the women's kayaking event at the Athens Olympic Games.

Windsurf grand slam starts today

The first leg of the Professional Windsurf Association's 2011 Grand Slam begins today at the Mui Ne resort in the southern province of Binh Thuan.

Three Vietnamese windsurfers will join 116 professional competitors from 29 countries to compete for a prize of VND 2.5 billion (US$113,000).

The tournament will visit 12 beaches by the end of the year.

Competitors will compete in freestyle and slalom competitions through March 5, with Cyril Moussilmani, currently ranked the world's third best windsurfer, joining the competition.

Chinese chess champs begin

The National First Class Chinese Chess Championship is scheduled to start today and run until March 6 at HCM City's Phu Tho Gymnasium.

The event offers total cash prizes of VND150 million (US$6,800), of which VND60 million ($2,720) will be awarded for the men's title and VND30 million ($1,360) for the women's crown.

Coach Hoang Dinh Hong said this year's tournament had attracted leading players nationwide, including defending champions Vo Minh Nhat of Binh Phuoc and Ngo Lan Huong of HCM City.

The annual event is used to select outstanding players to compete for the national team at the world championship in Indonesia in September.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News