Laos-Vietnam Golf tourney mark Lao Party Congress


A Vietnam-Laos friendship golf tournament was held by the Vietnamese embassy in Vientiane on March 26 to celebrate the success of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party’s ninth National Congress and to welcome Lao New Year Bpee Mai.

Photo:VOV
Participants in the event included the Lao Vice President Bounnhang Vorachith, Deputy Prime Minister Somsavad Lengsavath, and many other senior Lao officials. On the Vietnamese side, there were Ambassador Ta Minh Chau, Envoy Luong Quoc Huy, and the leaders of the Vietnamese Association in Laos as well as many Vietnamese entrepreneurs.


On the occasion, the Long Thanh Golf Business (from Vietnam’s Dong Nai province) donated US$350,000 for Laos to build schools and treat disadavantaged patients. The Him Lam business from Vietnam also gave the Lao province of  Attapu VND10 billion to help build schools.


The Vietnamese embassy previously held a similar golf tournament to celebrate the success of the 11th National Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party and the Lunar New Year.


Officials laud athletes during ‘Sports Day'


The top 15 athletes and coaches of the year were honoured during a ceremony at the Ha Noi Opera House yesterday, March 27, to mark the 65th anniversary of Viet Nam Sports Day.


At the ceremony, the State also presented the National Sports Administration the Labour Order, First Class, for the contributions that the group had made to national sports in the country during the last 65 years.


The national sports administration presented cash-prizes to top sprinters Vu Thi Huong, Truong Thanh Hang and the martial artist Le Bich Phuong.


Phuong, who won Viet Nam's only gold medal at the Asian Games in Guangzhou last year, received US$13,000 in cash from the National Sports Administration and sponsors.


The National Sports Administration also gave prizes to 32 athletes who won medals at the Games.

Viet Nam hopes to finish second in the medal tally at the Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia this November.


Volleyballer sets record transfer


PetroVietnam volleyball team have signed Vietnamese setter Luu Dinh Toan on a record four-year contract with a transfer fee of US$72,000, a source told Viet Nam News yesterday, March 27.


It's the highest transfer fee for a Vietnamese volleyballer in the domestic championship.


Last month, lower First Division Duc Long-Gia Lai set a milestone when they paid $61,400 to entice Nguyen Huu Ha from Ninh Binh for five years.


The source said the Ha Noi-based team targeted to finish in the top three in the National Volleyball Championship, which kicks off in Thai Nguyen and Ha Noi next week.


Toan, who played for Golden Star-Border Guard team last year, will team up with Le Binh Giang, Tran Van Giap, Nguyen Van Hoa and Thien Vu.


Earlier, the Hanoian team recruited former national team coach Nguyen Manh Hung to guide the team this year.


PetroVietnam will debut their two newly contracted Chinese players Shan Quing Tao and Wang Shen on Friday.


Last year, Petro Viet Nam spent $120,000 to get signatures from Long An-born attackers Thien Vu and Vinh Phuc Public Security's Giap.


The championship has drawn around 20 foreign players from Thailand, Russia and China.


This is the seventh year the Volleyball Federation of Viet Nam has allowed teams to sign two foreign players, though only one is allowed on court at a time.


Volleyball joined football in becoming a professional sport five years ago.

VNN/VOV/VNS