Vinh fails to retain title

Hoang Xuan Vinh failed to retain his title at the ISSF World Cup Riffle/Pistol in Changwon, South Korea, yesterday, April 12.

Hoang Xuan Vinh – File photo

The defending champion grabbed only 138 points and failed to make the top-three in the men's 10m air pistol event.

The gold medal went to Jin Jongoh of the hosts who shot 206 points. He was followed by Naung Ye Tun of Myanmar with 201, and Indian Rai Ritu on 181.1.

In 2013 Vinh, was the winner of the tournament. He continued his successful performance one year later in the US.

"Although he did not maintain his position, his performance was pretty good. He made a stable 582 points in the qualification round, which we considered really impressive. He met with strong rivals in the final and was ousted," said coach Pham Cao Son.

On Saturday, Vinh pocketed a bronze in the 50m pistol event, his first medal in this category at the world level.

Vinh shot 171.8 points, ranking behind 18-year-old Zhang Bowen from China and Park Deahun from South Korea.

The World Cup will close on Thursday.

U13 football festival kicks off

The Ngoc Lam and Phu Do secondary schools will represent Ha Noi at the final round of the first football festival for U13 students in June.

Ngoc Lam yesterday won 8-0 over Thanh Cong, while Phu Do defeated Dich Vong 4-0 in the Northern qualification's semi-finals.

The organisers have so far selected eight out of 12 competitors for the finals. The rest will be decided after qualification rounds in Nghe An Province later this month and HCM City in May.

The finals are scheduled to be held in Ha Noi on June 3-7.

The festival, co-organised by Yamaha Motor Viet Nam, the Thieu Nien Tien Phong (Youth Pioneers) newspaper and The Thao 24h Joinstock Company, is part of a programme titled: For the Future of Viet Nam Football.

A team of top players will be selected to tour Japan.

Pencak silat comp gets started

The National Pencak Silat Championships started yesterday (April 12) in Hai Duong Province with the participation of more than 250 athletes from 25 teams.

They compete in individual and team perfomance disciplines and combat competitions in different weight categories, ranging from 45kg to 95kg for men and 45kg to 75kg for women.

The championships will end on Friday.     

Hau grabs yellow jersey

Chau Hong Hau of VTV Can Tho won the second stage of the HCM City Television Cycling Tournament yesterday, April 12.

He finished the 150km stage from Ha Noi to Thanh Hoa with a time of 3hr 17.03min.

His performance helped him steal the yellow jersey as tour leader with a total time of 4:17.18.

The second position went to Nguyen Vu Linh of Domesco Dong Thap. First stage winner Le Nguyet Minh was at third.

Linh and Minh share top place in the green jersey race as both have 21 points after two stages. Trinh Duc Tam of ADC Vinh Long Television is close behind with 19 points.

Gao Hat Ngoc Troi An Giang lead the team ranking with 12:54.41, followed by Domesco Dong Thap and Mathnasium-HCM City.

The third stage today will be from Thanh Hoa to Vinh City on 137km.

Joining 28th SEA Games to cost Vietnam nearly US$1mln

It is estimated to cost Vietnam over VND20 billion (US$930,200) for its delegation of 640 members, including around 420 athletes, to take part in the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to be held from June 5 to 16 in Singapore.

Tran Duc Phan, vice head of the General Sports Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and chief of the Vietnamese sports delegation to Singapore, announced the estimate at a recent meeting.

With 420 athletes to compete in 27 out of 36 sports categories at the 28th SEA Games, Vietnam sets a target to stand in top three on the medal tally of the sporting festival, which is organized every two years.

Thailand, Indonesia, and the host Singapore are forecast to be strong rivals against Vietnam for the target.

Vietnam has sent 18 teams on overseas training trips to prepare for the event. Swimmers and runners are training in the US. and Japan, shooters in the Republic of Korea, rowers in Singapore, gymnasts in Canada, and wushu and table tennis players in China.

The cost of food and accommodation for each athlete at the forthcoming tournament is US$50 a day, plus an additional US$20 for other daily spending.

Sports Minister Hoang Tuan Anh officially submitted on Thursday a document to the central government to ask for their permission to organize the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam at the request of the Southeast Asian Games Federation.

At the 27th SEA Games in 2013, Vietnam ranked third in the overall medal standings with 73 gold medals, 86 silvers, and 86 bronzes, after Thailand with 107 golds and the host Myanmar with 86 golds.

VNS/Tuoitre