HCM City top swimming champs

HCM City triumphed at the National Short-Course Swimming Championships in Hue city on Thursday night.

The team won 17 golds, 14 silvers and eight bronzes. Da Nang came second with 12 golds, three silvers and seven bronze medals. Meanwhile, third place went to Quang Binh, who won four golds, four silvers and two bronze medals.

On the last competition day, teenagers Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen of HCM City and Hoang Quy Phuoc of Da Nang won two gold medals each.

Tuyen, 16, finished first in the women's 200m freestyle and 4x50m medley, while Phuoc, 17, won the men's 200m medley and 4x100 relay.

Coach Son to spend year in Germany

Coach Vu Dinh Son of the Viet Nam Athletics Federation (VAF) will take part in a one-year training session in Germany starting this summer.

Son is the third coach to be sent to Germany to train.

Earlier the German Olympic Sports Association sent athletics expert Uwe Freimuth to Viet Nam to assist the VAF.

Uwe is a former track-and-field athlete who has taken part in a number of Olympic and world championships.

Taekwondo team to train in S Korea

The national taekwondo team will head to South Korea on April 5 for training in preparation for the qualifying round of the 2012 London Olympics.

According to the head of the taekwondo section under the National Sports Administration, Vu Xuan Thanh, the team comprises seven top martial artists including Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao, Chu Hoang Dieu Linh and Nguyen Thi Duong.

The team will take part in the World Taekwondo Championships in South Korea from May 1-6 in preparation for the Asian zone qualifiers later this year.

Vietnam advances in AFC’s rankings

Vietnam’s U19 football team has made great advances in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s rankings.

This was mainly due to its excellent performance entering the final match of the 2010 Asian U19 Championships.

They are now placed after the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Japan and China.

The team will take part in the qualifying round of the Asian U19 Championships 2011, which will draw the participation of 39 teams.

Vietnam U19’s seeded sixth in AFC East Asia zone qualifying draw

Vietnam's U-19 men's football team will be seeded sixth in the East Asia zone at the 2012 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19 Championship qualifying draw, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on March 30.

The 2012 AFC U-19 Championship has attracted the participation of 39 qualifying teams. They will be divided into two zones: West Asia with 23 teams and East Asia with 16 teams.

The West zone will comprise three groups of six teams and one group of five teams whilst the East zone will include one group of six teams and two groups of five teams.

The two top teams from each group and the third best team from each of the West and East zones will qualify for the tournament's final round.

Seed rankings for teams and zones:

West Asia

1. Saudi Arabia, 2. Uzbekistan, 3. UAE, 4. Bahrain, 5. Syria, 6. Iran, 7. Jordan, 8. Iraq, 9. Yemen, 10. Oman, 11. Tajikistan, 12. Pakistan, 13. Qatar, 14. Palestine, 15. India, 16. Bangladesh, 17. Kuwait, 18. Nepal, 19. Afghanistan, 20. Bhutan, 21. Lebanon, 22. Maldives and 23. Turkmenistan.

East Asia

1. Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 2. Australia, 3. Republic of Korea, 4. Japan, 5. China, 6. Vietnam, 7. Thailand, 8. Indonesia, 9. Malaysia, 10. Hong Kong, 11. Myanmar, 12. Singapore, 13. Macau, 14. Guam, 15. Laos, 16. Chinese Taipei.

Vietnam wins gold at World Muay Thai Championships

Vietnamese kickboxer Phan Thi Ngoc Linh has brought home her first ever gold medal from the World Semi-Professional Muay Thai Championships in Thailand, which finished on March 25.

Linh crushed her rival Meralio of Brazil in the first round of the final in the women's under 57kg category.

Earlier, Southeast Asian Games silver medallist Linh from Ho Chi Minh City also won gold at the eighth World Amateur Muay Thai Championships in Bangkok.

Asian Indoor Games gold medallists Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat and Van Dai also got to the final in the men's under 57kg and 60kg, respectively, but they lost to their Thai rivals.

Vietnam's women football rank 32nd in the world

The Vietnam national women's football team jumped up two spots to claim the 32nd place in the latest FIFA rankings for the first quarter of the year.

Vietnam are likely to improve their current ranking if they do well in the first qualifying round for the 2012 Olympic Games which is currently being held in Chinese Taipei. At the tournament, Vietnam is playing in Group A with Thailand, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Myanmar. Vietnam gained two wins over Hong Kong and Myanmar in their first two matches.

Vietnam took back their top position in Southeast Asia after Thailand slipped one spot to place 34th in the world and second in Southeast Asia.

Japan moved up one spot to number four in the world and retains their top position in Asia, followed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Australia.

Vietnam kickboxers to compete at world championship

Three Vietnamese kickboxers were outstanding in their victories in the qualifying rounds and quarter finals to qualify for the World Semi-professional Muay Thai Championships semi-finals in Thailand on March 22.

They include Asian Indoor Games gold medallist, Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat from Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast Asian Games silver medallist Phan Thi Ngoc Linh of Ho Chi Minh City and kickboxer Van Dai.

Earlier, Vietnamese players won two golds, five silvers and two bronzes at the eight World Amateur Muay Thai Championships in Thailand on March 20.

At the world amateur event last year, Vietnamese boxers surprised the world by winning three golds and one bronze medal. They finished third out of 45 teams.

Maseco Ho Chi Minh City top southern region

Maseco Ho Chi Minh City occupied the first position at the 2011 A-Class National Men's Volleyball Tournament - Southern Region which concluded at Truong An gymnasium in Vinh Long city on March 21.

The ten-day competition attracted the participation of 132 players from 11 teams from the central and southern provinces.

Six leading teams comprising Maseco Ho Chi Minh City, Duc Long - Gia Lai, Ho Chi Minh Police, Bien Hoa Building Materials, Vinh Long and Sanna Khanh Hoa will join other top four teams from the northern region to compete in the semi-final round of the tournament, to be held in Quang Binh from June 3-12.

The final round will be organised from September 17-25 in the central province of Ha Tinh.