Tien Minh fails to proceed in Asian badminton champs

Vietnam’s top player Nguyen Tien Minh had to stop in the third round of the ongoing 2012 Asian Badminton Championships in China after losing 1-2 to Hu Yun from Hong Kong on April 19.
    
Minh was defeated in the first game with a score of 21-23. He made an easy win (21-5) in the second game, but was trounced 17-21 in the third game after more than one hour of tough competition.

Earlier, Minh had won three out of four matches against the Hong Kong rival (World No21) who is ten notches lower than him.

Other Vietnamese players, namely Bui Bang Duc, Dao Manh Thang, Vu Thi Trang and Vu Thi Sen also failed to move further.

Asian women’s volleyball tourney opens

The 2012 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championships kicked off in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, on April 21.
    
This year the tournament has attracted nine clubs from China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the host, Thailand.

Representing Vietnam, the Binh Dien Long An club has been placed in group A to compete with Iran, Japan, Myanmar and Thailand.

In 2011, the tournament was held in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam and the LienViet Bank team from the host country ended up in fourth place in the final round.

Tennis players compete at Davis Cup 2012

Tennis player Nguyen Hoang Thien

Four Vietnamese tennis players flew to Iran on April 20 to take part in the Davis Cup 2012 tournament.

They are Ly Hoang Nam, Ho Huynh Dan Mach, Nguyen Hoang Thien and Tran Hoang Anh Khoa.

Vietnam is in the Asia-Pacific region’s group III together with Bangladesh, Iran, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Oman and Syria.

Leaders of the Vietnam Tennis Federation met with the players and promised to award the team VND100 million if they successfully maintain their current standing.

Top Chinese puts Thien in his place

Nguyen Hoang Thien could not spring another surprise and was tamed 6-2, 6-4 by top seed Chen Ti of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals of the F3 Men's Futures tennis tournament in HCM City yesterday.

After his grand performance in the second round on Thursday when he crushed Dominik Schulz of Germany 6-1, 6-1, a large crowd came to the Phu Tho Tennis Club to support the young player.

But Chen, 28, ranked 272nd by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), was too strong for the 17-year-old who was in the tournament as a wild card seeking his first ITF ranking points.

Chen quickly spotted the weakness in Thien's backhand and exploited it to break serve in the third and fifth games to take control of the first set at 5-1.

Thien, who did not get much chance to unleash his powerful forehand, managed to win one more game before going down 6-2.

In the second set Chen once again started well, breaking in the second game to go 2-0 up. At this point, Thien changed tactics, resorting to slice instead of topspin.

Though his service was too tame to trouble Chen, Thien did not drop it again. But Chen held on that early break to win the second set 6-4 and with it, the match.

"Thien did not start the two sets well today and allowed Chen to make early breaks," the youngster's French coach Tom Kindavong said.

"Chen, with his greater experience, did not give Thien a chance to get back into the game.

"Thien also did not serve well today and Chen made capital of it."

Charity golf tournament swings into action to help disadvantaged kids

As many as 144 golfers will compete at the sixth charity Swing golf tournament for children on May 12 at Phuong Hoang golf course in Hoa Binh Province.

Organisers, the Viet Nam Investment Review newspaper, will auction three photographs signed by golfing star Tiger Woods.

The tourney is held annually to support poor but outstanding students. During the past five years, it has handed over 5,500 scholarships worth a total of VND4.3 billion (nearly US$206,400) to underprivileged students.

Linh set to compete in rhythmic gymnastics world cup in Russia

Truong Mai Nhat Linh will be the sole Vietnamese representative at the 2012 Category B Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Penza, Russia, on April 28-29.

The two-day event has attracted leading athletes such as Daria Kondakova, Daria Dmitrieva and Yevegeniya Kanayeva of Russia and Anna Alyabyeva of Kazakhstan.

At the 13th ASEAN University Games, 16-year-old Linh won four bronze medals in the all-around, ribbon, ball and team events. She was the first Vietnamese athlete to participate in the rhythmic competition at the World Youth Gymnastics Championship in Kiev, Ukraine, in 2009.

Swimmer Phuoc to train in China after troubled time in US

Da Nang swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc will be trained in China after a troubled time spent in the US, according to Lam Quang Thanh, deputy head of the National Sports Administration.

Thanh said the administration and the Da Nang People's Committee decided to bring the athlete home based on his aspirations.

Phuoc, who hoped to reach the London Olympic A standard during a six-month training session in the US, will return home as soon as possible to train in China where Chau Ba Anh Tu will be his practice partner.

The 18-year-old hit the B standard at the Malaysian Swimming Open last year.

At the 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Indonesia in November 2011, Phuoc set a new Games record in the men's 100m butterfly event.