Women's U19 touch down in Bangkok

The national women's U19 football team arrived Thailand yesterday to take part in the ASEAN Championships slated from August 16-26.

Five teams will be competing in the tournament, with Viet Nam taking on Singapore on Monday. They will later go up against East Timor, Thailand and Myanmar

"They have undergone intensive training and played in friendly matches in preparation for this tournament. We're now ready for every match," said Nguyen Duy Hung, the head coach.

"The Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) has created the best conditions for the team. We hope that they will do their best during the event in the spirit of fair play," said Le Hoai Anh, VFF General Secretary, at the send-off ceremony in Ha Noi yesterday.

Int’l Three-Cushion Carom Billiards Tournament opens

The third International Three-Cushion Carom Billiards Tournament opened in Binh Duong on August 15 with the participation of 52 players, including 5 foreigners from the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan.

Eight domestic players are seeded at the tournament, namely Duong Anh Vu (champions 2013), Ngo Dinh Nai (runner-up 2013), Nguyen Quoc Nguyet (runner-up 2012), Do Nguyen Trung Hau, Vuong Minh Thien, Quach Dan Binh, Le Phuc Thien and Truong Van Trung.

Foreign players include two Japanese: Arai Tasuo who had championed at a national Japan tournament and Takeshima O who currently ranks 27th in the world.

Three participating players from the Republic of Korea are Heo Jung Han, Oh Sung Kyu and Cho Jea Ho. Cho is the RoK’s top seed and one of the top ten world’s outstanding players.

Players compete in a knock-out form throughout the tournament.

Winners will walk away with total prizes of VND100 million (US$4,800), including VND40 million for the champion, VND20 million for the first runner-up and VND10 for the second-runner up.

The final round takes place on August 17 and is scheduled for live broadcast on BTV2, BTV5, VTC3, AVG and HTVC.

Vietnam football team begins Suzuki Cup campaign

Japanese coach Toshiya Miura has chosen 26 players for the Vietnamese football team to prepare for the upcoming ASEAN Football Championship- 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup.

The players will gather in Hanoi on August 22 for training, embarking on a never-ending quest for the regional trophy.

V-League champions B-Binh Duong FC contributed six players who were called in previous gatherings.  

Coach Miura also selected newcomers for the national line-up such as Que Ngoc Hai, Hoang Minh Tam and Vo Huy Toan, hoping they can learn from their experienced players.

Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Vice President Tran Quoc Tuan said the squad will travel to Japan for training from September 28 to October 16 where they are scheduled to play a number of friendlies.

HCM City Football Cup in late October 2014 will be the last test for the squad before they compete at Suzuki Cup 2014 to be co-hosted by Vietnam and Singapore from November 20 to December 20.

After disappointing results at recent AFF Cup tournaments, Vietnam will enter the tournament unseeded and aim to reach the semi finals.

Duan wins first stage of cycling tour

National team member Le Van Duan won the first stage of the Mekong Delta Cycling Tour for the An Giang Plant Protection Cup yesterday.

The HCM City cyclist took 1hr 38.08min to win the 68km stage between HCM City and Ben Tre City.

Tran Van Quyen of Military Zone 7 and Mai Nguyen Hung, another HCM City team cyclist, came second and third respectively.

With two of its cyclists in the top three positions, HCM City topped the rankings with a total time of 4:54.24, followed by Hat Ngoc Troi Rice and ADC-Vinh Long Television.

Today, the teams will cycle 128km from Tra Vinh City to Lap Vo Town in Dong Thap Province.

Ninety cyclists from 18 teams are participating in the tournament, which ends on August 20. They will compete over a total distance of 781km in eight stages, going through 13 cities and provinces.

VN edge El Salvador at chess Olympiad

Viet Nam beat El Salvador 4-0 in the final round of the Olympiad world chess team championships which concluded in Tromso, Norway, yesterday.

All four female athletes showed no difficulty against their rivals listing lower on the world rankings.

It was their sixth win at the 11-game event, earning them a total score of 14 points and 23rd place.

Russia took the winning title.

The men's team surprised, going down 1.5-2.5 to Spain yesterday. The team, who ranked seventh last year, were knocked out of top 20.

A strong Chinese squad took out the top position at the competition.

Tuan stays with Quang Ninh

Vu Minh Tuan has finally renegotiated his contract and will play three seasons for the V-League side Quang Ninh Coal.

Following the contract, captain Tuan will pocket VND4.5 billion (US$214,000) which reportedly is only half of what he was offered by national champions Becamex Binh Duong and a club from Japan.

Quang Ninh, which finished sixth in the V-League, was transferred to new owner Ha Giang Minerals and Gold Exploitation Joint stock Company, on August 12.

Ha Giang Company managers also plan to renew contracts with other key players like Nguyen Hai Huy, Nguyen Huy Cuong, Bui Trong Nghia and Le Bat Hieu.

Vietnam slide down FIFA rankings

Without playing any matches in July, Vietnam dropped another 10 notches in the latest FIFA rankings to 139th position.

In June they slid six places to 129th in the global rankings.

However, they retain their No2 standing in Southeast Asia, after the Philippines (128th).

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Singapore finish 152nd, Malaysia 155th, Thailand 157th, Myanmar 160th, Laos 172nd, Brunei (193rd), Timor Leste (193rd), and Cambodia (201st).

Japan top the Asia standings, trailing behind Iran, Uzbekistan, Jordan, and the Republic of Korea. Vietnam drop one place to 21st compared to the June rankings.

In the world, world champions Germany take the lead, followed by Argentina, the Netherland, Colombia and Belgium.