Vietnamese Super Grandmasters drop in FIDE rankings

Vietnamese Super Grandmasters Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son have fallen in the World Chess Federation (FIDE) rankings for March.

Although they are both still among the top 100 world Super Grandmasters, Liem fell from 29th to 47th position with an Elo of 2698 and Truong Son dropped from 84th to 87th with a 2662 Elo.

Liem was not very successful at two major international tournaments in Gribalta and Moscow, while Truong Son has not participated in any tournaments so far this year.

VN tennis players vie for spot at FED Cup

Viet Nam's under-16 female tennis team is set to compete in the final round of the Asian-Oceania zone qualifiers for the Fed Cup.

They will take part in the qualifiers for the first time from April 24 to 29 in Australia.

The event, launched by the International Tennis Federation, is now the world's largest annual global women's team competition.

Earlier, Viet Nam finished in third place at the Asia-Oceania pre-qualifying competition in Malaysia at the end of last month. The young players took the second place in group A after losing to China 0-3 and beating Iran 3-0. They then defeated Sri Lanka 2-1 to stand at third position overall.

The three top teams qualify for the final round, which means Viet Nam win a spot alongside fellow qualifiers China and Malaysia.

"It was lucky for us to earn the ticket to the Fed Cup qualification," said coach Nguyen Kim Cuong. "Two out of eight participating teams dropped out so our opportunity to win increased."

"We will face a lot of difficulties in Australia because the final round will pit us against the region's toughest teams. I think this is a good opportunity for the players to gain experience and learn from foreign athletes."

The finals are expected to attract 13 teams, with the top four squads taking part in the world finals in Spain.-

Thien set to take part in ITF tournaments

Young Vietnamese tennis player Nguyen Hoang Thien is set to participate in three International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments in March.

The 17-year-old will compete at the Chang-Thailand Junior Championships in Thailand on March 5-9, the 19th Sarawak Chief Minister's Cup in Malaysia on March 13-18 and the 23rd Mitsubishi Lancer International Junior Tennis Championship in the Philippines on March 20-25.

Thien targets to gather more points to improve his position in the ITF rankings. He currently holds 81st place.-

Viet Nam draw with Italy at World National champs

Viet Nam tied with Italy in their first Group C match at the World National Team Championship 3-Cushion tournament in Germany on Thursday.

Ma Xuan Cuong, world No 29, easily beat world No 221 Cortese Fabrizio 15-9, 15-9 while world No 35 Duong Anh Vu surprisingly lost to world No 44 Siacca Emilio 14-15, 14-15.

With this result, Viet Nam holds little advantage in progressing to the semifinals. The players will next meet defending world runner-up Belgium.

The tournament closed on March 4.

Trung to leave Ha Noi FC

Ha Noi FC agreed to end their contract with midfielder Dinh Thanh Trung after their two-hour meeting with the Viet Nam Football Federation.

Trung refused to play for the club in a match against Becamex Binh Duong in the fourth round of the V-League Eximbank 2012 on February 5. The young player expressed his hope to leave Ha Noi FC but the club refused.

His contract ended on January 21 but one clause called for Trung to sign a new contract to play for the club until October 25, 2013. However, the clause was deemed illegal.-

Hanoi to host Asian pentaque championships 2012

The Asian pentaque championships 2012 will be held this August at the Quan Ngua Sports Palace in Hanoi.

The tournament will be a good opportunity for Vietnamese athletes to compete against quality teams and gain valuable experience.

After not living up to expectations at the 26th SEA Games (earning only one silver and one bronze medal), Vietnam’s pentaque team is determined to achieve better results in this year’s championships.

Disabled athletes participate in HCM City tournament

A sports tournament for disabled athletes kicked off in HCM City on March 3.

250 athletes from 17 centres for the handicapped will compete in football, chess and judo, as well as other special events.

The first stage of the tournament will take place at the Phu Nhuan football club on March 3-4, and the second will be organized at Nguyen Dinh Chieu high school from March 10-11.

The event is supported by the Special Olympics organization and organized by the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.