Olympic football team qualifies for ASIAD 17

The Vietnam Olympic football team officially earned a berth to the next round of ASIAD 17 after Iran drew with Kyrgyzstan 1-1 in the Republic of Korea (RoK) on September 18.

The match in group H between Iran and Kyrgyzstan helped to enable Vietnam to be two leading positions of the group.

Now the Vietnam Olympic football team gets three points from the winning match over Iran 4-1 on September 15.  

If Vietnam defeats Kyrgyzstan in the next match, it will top group H.

The final match in group H between Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan is scheduled for 3pm on September 22.

VNA newspaper supports Asian Games, Para Games medallists

The Vietnam News Agency’s The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports & Culture) newspaper launched a programme on September 17 in support of athletes who bring home medals at the 17th Asian Games (ASIAD) and 2nd Asian Para Games, held in Incheon, the Republic of Korea, in September and October.

The programme is funded by the newspaper and the Saigon-Hanoi Insurance Joint Stock Corporation with the coordination of the Vietnam Olympic Committee.

Accordingly, gold medal winners at the ASIAD-17 will receive 50 million VND (2,350 USD) per individual and 100 million VND (4,700 USD) per team. The awards for the Para Games are 20 million VND (940 USD) and 40 million USD (1,880 USD), respectively.

Awards will also be presented to silver and bronze medallists at the two competitions.

298 Vietnamese athletes in 22 teams will compete in 36 disciplines at the ASIAD-17, which runs from September 19 to October 4.

Vietnam expects to do particularly well in 15 sports, including shooting, wrestling swimming, taekwondo, karatedo, wushu and apparatus gymnastics. It aims to win 2 or 3 gold medals.

Meanwhile, the second Asian Para Games take place in Incheon from October 18-24.

Cyclists prepare to take off at Ha Noi Open

More than 500 cyclists from 40 clubs will take part in the Ha Noi Cycling Open on Sunday.

Students, middle-aged and elderly people will pedal around Hoan Kiem Lake for distances suitable to their age groups.

The event is being organised by the Ha Noi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It aims to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Capital's Liberation Day that falls on October 10.

VN to compete in soft tennis event

Viet Nam will participate in a soft tennis event for the first time in the Asian Games (Asiad) which officially opens tomorrow in Incheon, South Korea.

Coach Nguyen Thi Kieu My said that most of team members are veteran tennis players such as Tran Thanh Hoang, Huynh Chi Khuong and Lam Quang Tri.

In June, the South Korea Soft Tennis Federation sent experts to help Viet Nam develop this sport. They coached Vietnamese players two months before the team went to South Korea to compete in a pre-Asiad tournament.

Viet Nam team will leave for South Korea on September 25.

U16 team train for Asian event

The national U16 women's team have gathered in the Ha Noi-based Viet Nam Football Training Centre to prepare for the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U16 Women's Championship's qualifying round.

Coach Luu Ngoc Mai has got 25 players from Ha Noi, Ha Nam, HCM City and Viet Nam Coal and Minerals Club on her list.

According to Mai, though many of the players have joined the national team for the first time, they have shown their skill and experience.

During the training session, the team will have three friendly matches with Ha Noi's U16 and U19 women's teams.

There are 21 member nations of the AFC taking part in the qualifier. The teams have been divided into West Zone (Groups A and B) which comprises teams from West and South and Central Asia, and East Zone (C and D) which comprises teams from East Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous season in 2013. In each group, the teams will play each other once. The winners in each group will qualify for the final.

In Group C, Viet Nam will meet Australia on October 4, South Korea on October 6 and Hong Kong two days later.

The AFC event is scheduled to be held in Malacca, Malaysia, from October 4 to 8.

More than 100 golfers to strive for Vinpearl Golf Championship

The Vinpearl Golf Club Nha Trang 2014 Championship will be held for the second time at Vinpearl Nha Trang golf course on September 20-21.

This year’s tournament attracts more than 100 golfers to compete against each other for five Hole-in-One prizes. Especially, a grand prize of a VND1.4 billion Mercedes C200 sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Vietnam will be given to the golfer who can successfully conquer Hole Number 10 on the last day of the tournament.

The next two Hole-in-One prizes, two Ducati bikes worth VND860 million each, will be rewarded to golfers who can beat the others at Hole Number 16. The rest Hole-in-One prizes applied for Hole Number 13, 8, 3  are respectively a 25-year membership card at Vinpearl Phu Quoc golf course worth VND525 million each, a US$10,000 Club Car, and a Vietnam Airlines round-trip ticket from Hanoi/HCMC/Nha Trang to any domestic or international city.

In addition, the tournament also offers many prizes of high value from top golf brands such as Titleist, Nike, Cobra, and Puma among others.

VNS/ND/VOV