National beach football tourney to kick off

Eight teams will participate in the National Beach Football Tournament scheduled to take place in Tuy Hoa city in the central coastal province of Phu Yen from June 7 to 13.

Participating teams include Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen 1, Phu Yen 2 and Thuan An from Hue city.

These teams are divided into two groups to compete in a round robin tournament. The two winners of each group will enter the semi-finals.

The event's champions will receive VND25 million.

Last year, the host team Thuan An of Hue city took the title.

SLNA lose to Persipura in AFC Cup quarter-finals

Viet Nam's Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) lost to Persipura Jayapura of Indonesia 3-1 in the quarter-final round of the Asian Football Confederation Cup at Vinh Stadium on Wednesday.

Boas Salossa opened the scoring from the spot just before the half-hour mark at Vinh Stadium and Bonai doubled the lead before half-time.

Nguyen Hong Viet pulled a goal back for the hosts in the 59th minute before Ortizan Salossa wrapped up victory for the Indonesians six minutes from the end.

SLNA are the second team from Viet Nam to reach the last eight of the AFC Cup after Becamex Binh Duong achieved the feat two years ago. Becamex Binh Duong went on to make the semi-finals.

Judokas Ngoc Tu to compete at Grand Slam

Judokas Van Ngoc Tu will compete in the Judo Grand Slam in Rio, Brazil from June 18 to 19.

Though Tu's hopes of winning a medal in this event are not high, she will accumulate points to qualify for the London Olympics in 2012.

The 24-year-old Tu won the first medal for Viet Nam at the 2011 Asian Judo Championships in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates in early April. It was the highest level a Vietnamese judo martial artist has ever achieved in a continent-wide competition.

With the bronze medal at the Asian championships, Tu earned 72 points to take the lead in the International Judo Federation rankings of female martial artists in the 48kg weight category. If she can retain her position, it is very likely that she will be eligible to participate at the Olympics in London next year.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News