Vietnam concludes YOG campaign with two medals

The Vietnam sport delegation wrapped up their six-day campaign at the second Youth Olympic Games (YOG) on August 22, bagging home a total of two medals, one gold in swimming and one silver in weightlifting.

Nguyen Thi Anh Vien – Vietnam’s biggest medal hope – lived up to expectations as she claimed the country’s only gold medal in the women’s 200m medley event, which was also Vietnam’s first swimming gold at a YOG competition.

Anh Vien completed her race in a time of 2:12.66, breaking the previous YOG record of 2:14.53, held by the US swimmer Kaitlyn Jones.

Despite competing in the most disciplines compared to her teammates, Vien was not successful in the remaining four events, finishing just in fourth place in the 800m freestyle and making the semi-finals of the 50m backstrokes.

The silver medal went to weightlifter Nguyen Tran Anh Tuan, who produced a total lift of 243kg in the men’s 56kg weight category, 40kg lighter than the gold medallist Cheng Meng of China.

The 2nd YOG is taking place in Nanjing, China from August 16-28. Vietnam was represented by 13 athletes in seven sports: swimming, weightlifting, badminton, gymnastics, taekwondo, rowing and beach volleyball.

U19s lose out to Myanmar

Viet Nam lost to Myanmar 3-4 in the final match of the ASEAN Youth Football Championship-Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy in Brunei on Saturday.

Myanmar went ahead with an opening goal at the 16th minute, when Vietnamese goalkeeper Le Van Truong mistakenly gave the ball to Myanmar's Myo Ko Tun, who took full advantage of the scoring opportunity.

Van Long levelled the result about 20 minutes later, and Ho Tuan Tai made it 2-1 for Viet Nam early in the second half. But Ko Tun scored his second goal with a straight header that knocked out Truong who, just three minutes later, let slip a third goal courtesy of Maung Soe.

Vietnamese Nguyen Cong Phuong, who missed a number of chances, finally found the net, making it 3-3 for his team at the 74th minute. He was later voted best player of the tournament. However, Aung Thu made a solo break into Viet Nam's defence and scored the winning goal.

After the tournament, the team will return home and prepare as hosts of the coming ASEAN Football Federation U19 Championship next month.

In related news, Viet Nam held Myanmar to a 1-1 draw at the AFF U19 Women's Football Championships yesterday in Bangkok. The team will face off against hosts Thailand in the finals tomorrow.

U19 striker wins Best Player prize

Striker of Vietnam-U19 team Nguyen Cong Phuong has won the Best Player prize in the ASEAN Youth Football Championship for the 2014 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy held recently in Brunei.

During the seven matches of the tournament, Cong Phuong always deployed formation of launching attacks . Apart from three scores, Cong Phuong actively took part in almost all attacks of Vietnam-U19 teams during each match.

Although Vietnam lost 3-4 to Brunei in the final match on August 23, Vienam-U19 players have performed impressively at the tournament, especially strikers.

Bisping knocks out Le in UFC

Michael Bisping stopped Cung Le just under a minute into the fourth round in Macau to maintain his position in the UFC's top 10 middleweight rankings.

The 35-year-old Briton (25-6) outfought the 42-year-old Vietnamese American (9-3) from the second round onwards. A probing jab cut Le near the left eye, and while he continued gamely, he was beaten up by his taller opponent in the next two rounds and knocked out in the fourth of the five-round main event.

Minh seeded third at VN Open

Vietnamese badminton ace Nguyen Tien Minh is the third seed at the Yonex Sunrise Vietnam GP Open 2014 in HCM City next month.

Indonesia's Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka, ranked 24th in the world, is the top seed, with compatriot Sony Dwi Kuncoro, the world No 28, as the second seed.

The event, which will take place at Phan Dinh Phung Stadium between September 1-9, is expected to attract hundreds of athletes from around the world and will offer a total prize pool of US$50,000.

Huong sees gold in Singapore

Vu Thi Huong of Viet Nam won the gold medal in the women's 100m dash at the 76th Singapore Open Track and Field Championships yesterday.

It was the second gold medal in Singapore for Huong, who won in the 200m event on Saturday.

The Vietnamese clocked 11.85 seconds to take the medal. Pereira Shanti Ve of Singapore came in second while Seko Nodoka of Japan came in third, respectively.

Her teammate, Tran Hue Hoa, also snatched a gold in the women's triple jump with a result of 13.80m. South Korean Bae Chanmi came in second while Japanese Yamane Mei came in third.

Pham Thi Diem likewise won the gold medal in the women's high jump event with a 1.79m leap, besting rivals Han Da Rye of South Korea and Suat Li Michelle of Singapore, who both jumped 1.76m. Viet Nam also grabbed two bronze medals courtesy of Nguyen Xuan Truong in the men's 800m event and Tran Thi Tham in the women's javelin event.

Nghe An U13s win in Japan

Vietnamese Song Lam Nghe An's U13 yesterday defeated Azul Claro's U12B team 4-0 during their friendly tour of Japan.

The national U13 champions met no difficulty in pocketing their win with goals from Tu Huy, Xuan Binh, Quoc Thanh and Van Luong.

Today, they will play their second match against Azul Claro's U12A before facing Vivace FC's U12 in the afternoon. Both are football clubs of Shizuoka Prefecture, one of the leading football centres in Japan. Their main team are competing at the Japan Football League.

The Khanh Hoa Salagane Nest Company will offer VND300 million in financial assistance to Vietnam’s handicapped athletes over 2014-2016, including their participation in the upcoming Asian Games (ASIAD 17).

A sponsorship deal to this effect was signed in Hanoi on August 22 between representatives of the company and the Vietnam Sports Association for the Disabled Athletes (VSAD).

The Academy of Physics and Biology will also assist Vietnamese athletes for five years, particularly providing free health care services for the athletes at ASIAD 17 due to take place in Incheon, the Republic of Korea, from September 18 to October 14.

Director of the Khanh Hoa Salagane Nest Company’s northern branch Nguyen Khoa Bao hoped that the aid will help Vietnamese disabled athletes improve their health and achieve good results in the Asian Games.