VN win six gold medals in karate championship

Vietnamese martial arts fighters won six gold medals at the fourth Thailand Open Karatedo Championship 2014, which ended at the Indoor Stadium, Hua Mark, Bangkok, yesterday.

The medals were won by Bui Ngoc Han (women's 61-kilogram category), Lang Thi Hoa (women's 68-kilogram category), Nguyen Thanh Duy (men's 60-kilogram category), Nguyen Van Nhat (men's 67-kilogram category), Nguyen Minh Phung (men's 84-kilogram category) and the women's kumite team.

Thailand A team won the overall title with 17 gold, 19 silver and 20 bronze medals, while Iran came second with 12 gold, nine silver and three bronze medals. Thailand B came third with eight gold medals.

More than 130 athletes from 14 countries took part in the three-day tournament.

Nation drops in football rankings

Viet Nam dropped six spots to 129th in the July rankings released by the International Federation of Association Football.

The Philippines jumped to 128th position, topping the Southeast Asian region rankings, followed by Viet Nam and Malaysia at 151.

Japan (45th), Iran (49th), and Uzbekistan (52nd) were the top listed teams in Asia, with Viet Nam trailing as the 20th highest in the region.

Germany, who triumphed earlier this month at the World Cup in Brazil, is now ranked at the top, with second and third place going to Argentina and the Netherlands, respectively.

HCM City take national swimming lead

HCM City established an early lead on the first day of the National Junior Swimming and Finswimming Championships at the Aquatic Sports Palace in the National Sports Complex in Ha Noi yesterday.

The team pocketed four golds, five silvers and three bronzes. Long An finished second and National Defence Sports Centre came in third.

The swimming event has attracted 181 athletes from 21 teams nationwide. They will compete for 20 sets of medal until this Friday.

HCM City int’l table tennis tournament winds down

Vietnam left a good impression, but walked away with few medals, at the 26th Golden Racket International Table Tennis Tournament which was

wrapped up in Ho Chi Minh City on July 20.

In women’s singles, Mai Hoang My Trang (Vietnam) collected a bronze medal following a heartbreaking loss to Kim Yeon Ryeong from the

Republic of Korea (RoK) 1-4. Lee Ho Ching (Hong Kong, China) won the championship title.

Le Tien Dat played competitively, making it to the quarter-finals of men’s singles but came up empty handed on the medal tally.

The top went to Kim Kyung Min (RoK). It was followed by Lee Jun Sang (RoK), Kim Gang Wong (RoK) and Chaisit Chaitat (Thailand).

In men team’s event, Vietnam A, including Le Tien Dat, Doan Ba Tuan Anh, Duong Van Nam and Nguyen Anh Tu, earned a silver medal after

they were defeated by Korea A 0-3. Bronze medals also went to Vietnam B and India.

Hong Kong (China) dominated the women’s team event. Thailand, India and Korea A came in second and third, respectively.

VN in U19 ‘group of death'

The Football Dream is continuing testing in different cities and provinces to recruit talented footballers from Viet Nam.

It is the sixth time the project seeks to attract children ages 13-14 who will be tested and trained by experts from Qatar's Aspire Academy and European giant Barcelona FC.

The testing days are July 19-26, with the selection day being August 11-13 in HCM City, where trainers will choose 30 players who proved outstanding during the tests.

The Football Dream is a non-profit international programme, taking place in 16 countries around the world this year.

Three best young football talents in each country will compete in the world's final round in Qatar. Selected players will receive a three-year training course at Aspire Academy.

Previously, several Vietnamese were selected to compete in the final rounds, as two of them, Nguyen Hong Son and Nguyen Thai Sung, received a scholarship.

Sung is now a member of SHB Da Nang's youth team and the national U19 squad. Son is still training in Qatar.

HCM City, Ha Noi win handball tournament titles

HCM City beat Ha Noi 2-0 to win the women's title in the National Beach Handball Tournament in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, yesterday.

The tournament is one of the events of the seventh National Sports Games.

Ha Noi defeated HCM City 2-1 to take the lead in the men's event.

Earlier, Khanh Hoa and Yen Bai finished joint third in the men's event, while Ha Giang and Binh Dinh finished tied for third place in the women's event.

Eight teams from six cities and provinces participated in the five-day event. They competed in a round-robin format with group stages. The top two teams in each group entered the semi-finals.