Ha Noi triumph at pencak silat comp

Ha Noi triumphed at the National Clubs Cup Pencak Silat Tournament which ended on Thursday in the northern province of Hai Duong.

The team brought home 12 golds, one silver and two bronze medals. Hosts Hai Duong came second with three golds, four silvers and one bronze medal. Hung Yen finished third with two golds and two silver medals.

The five-day event attracted 270 martial artists from 34 clubs nationwide who competed in tanding (combat) and seni (performance) disciplines.

This year's tournament was particularly competitive, as the country strives to raise the profile of the sport regionally and worldwide.

The best performers at the event will respresent their country at the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia this November.

Last year, Ha Noi also won the competition, which was hosted in HCM City, taking home eight golds and one bronze medal. Hai Duong finished second with two golds and three silvers and Thanh Hoa with two golds and two bronzes.

HCM take lead at swimming event

HCM City took the lead at the National Age Groups Swimming and Diving Championship at the end of the first day of competition in central Da Nang City on Thursday.

HCM City have so far won 39 medals – 17 golds, 14 silvers and eight bronzes. Quang Binh are in second place with eight medals and Da Nang third with seven.

The annual championship, sponsored by VietinBank, has attracted nearly 300 junior athletes from 23 cities and provinces competing in three age groups – under-12, 13-14 and 15-17 for 156 sets of medals in both individual and team events.

Sacombank renew sponsor deal

A one-year sponsorship deal worth VND1.5 billion (US$68,000) has been signed between Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (Sacombank) and the Border Guard volleyball team.

The team has qualified for the second leg of the national volleyball championship after finishing runners-up in the men's group A division last month.

Viettel U-13 set for ASEAN tourney

The U-13 Viettel football team will represent Viet Nam at the ASEAN Football Festival in Malaysia held from May 31 to June 7 team coach Nguyen Minh Tien said.

The 22-member team, runners-up in the 2010 National Juniors Football Championship, will compete against 16 teams from neighbouring countries series of round robin games.

"It will be the first time that we compete in a tournament abroad. The festival is a good opportunity for our players to exchange their football skills with players from other countries," Tien said. "The team is currently training hard in preparation for the seven-day festival."

"Playing at an international football event is a great chance for me to compete against other teams. I hope to score at least one goal to mark my first international match," centre's midfielder Le Tien Anh said.

The team coaching board recruited only the very best players selected from a group of 60 juniors, who are currently undergoing training at the Viettel Football Centre in Ha Noi.