Thiet says goodbye with golds and record

Photo: VOV
Female weightlifter Nguyen Thi Thiet has officially retired from competition after winning three gold medals and breaking one record at the sixth National Sports Games.

Thiet, who is the only Vietnamese lifter to compete at two Olympic Games, has been suffering from a knee injury for months, that prevented her from competing at the recent Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

Having already secured the gold medal, the Hai Duong Province-born athlete set a a SEA Games record by lifting 126kg in the 63kg category.

Thiet plans to work as a coach in her native province.

Junior Thien to compete in Australian Open

HA NOI – Nguyen Hoang Thien has earned a berth in the Australian Open junior category which starts on January 24 in Melbourne.

Thien, who will be 16 in March, jumped 111 places in the International Tennis Federation junior rankings released on Monday, from 323 to 212.

Thien is the first Vietnamese player to compete at one of the four grand slams.

He has set a target of breaking into the top 200 this year, and will warm up for the Open by taking part in the Loy Yang Traralgon International from January 15-20 in Traralgon, Australia.

Minh loses first game at Super Series Finals

Viet Nam's Nguyen Tien Minh lost his first match in Group A at the VICTOR-BWF's 2010 Super Series Finals yesterday.

Minh was defeated 12-21, 17-21 by the world and tournament No 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia yesterday in Chinese Taipei's Hsinchuang Gymnasium.

In the other Group A match, Dane Peter Gade beat his fellow countryman Jan Jorgensen 21-11, 18-21, 21-16.

It was Minh's sixth consecutive lost to Lee in international competitions, with his only win coming two years ago at the Singapore Open.

Minh will next play Gade while Lee will face Jorgensen.

The top two players from each group will advance to the semi-finals and the winner of the elite eight man tournament will take home US$40,000.

Dong Tam Long An sign new coach

Dong Tam Long An have hired a new coach just days before national football tournaments are due to kick off. Marco Octavio Cerqueira is the team's fourth foreign coach in three years.

The Brazilian replaces Macerlo Javier Zuleta who worked with the club for only three months before returning home to Argentina, due to family reasons.

Cerqueira has completed his FIFA coaching certificate and also graduated from Gama Filho College in Brazil with a physical training qualification. He first worked in beach football and led his national team to 10 World Championships before winning two European titles with Portugal and Belgium.

Cerqueira moved to football in 1995 and has worked with teams from Portugal, Brazil, China and Iran before coming to Viet Nam.

The coach said he agreed with the target of a top three finish set by the club when he signed the contract.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News