Vietnam sends athletes to compete at Asian Para Games II

A delegation of 45 athletes with physical disabilities was sent off to the 2014 Asian Para Games (Asian Para Games II) with a formal ceremony held at the National Sports Training Centre in Hanoi on October 8.

The multi-sport event will take place in Incheon, Republic of Korea, from October 18-24 with the participation of athletes from 42 countries and territories in Asia.

According to the Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Vietnam Sports Association for Disabled Athletes, Vu The Phiet, Vietnamese athletes will compete in six sports, including track-and-field, swimming, weightlifting, badminton, table tennis and bowling. The delegation aims for between 6-9 gold medals and the 15th position in the overall medal tally.

The event offers an opportunity for Vietnamese people with disabilities to participate equally in regional sports activities, as well as strengthen solidarity, and expand international relations in the field of adaptive sports with other nations.

Speaking at the sending-off ceremony, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Le Khanh Hai, spoke highly of the efforts made by coaches and disabled athletes in actively preparing for the sporting event.

Hai urged the delegation members to compete with the utmost determination and a noble sporting spirit to achieve the best performance possible. Athletes should be role models for respecting the local customs and practices of the host country as well as provisions of the Asian Para Games, Hai said, adding that each should be a messenger of goodwill to promote Vietnam’s traditional cultural identities to international friends.

At the first Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China in 2010, the Vietnamese delegation − with three gold, four silver and 10 bronze medals − was ranked 11th among 41 participating countries.

Le Quang Liem vies for stake at Millionaire Chess Open

Vietnam’s chess star, Le Quang Liem, playing for the Webster University chess team, will be competing in the US$1 million Millionaire Chess Open – the highest stakes open chess tournament in history – to be held in Las Vegas from October 9-13.

The five-day tournament has drawn the participation of over 500 players from 43 countries around the world divided into six sections of different elo rating levels: under 1400, under 1600, under 1800, under 2000, between 2350-2499, and over 2499 (Open).

Quang Liem is seeded third in the Open category with an elo rating of 2806, after top seed, Wesley So (Philippines, 2855) and second seed, Bu Xiangzhi (China, 2822). Prize money is available for top 50 finishers of this section, while the Open champion will win US$100,000.

The first seven rounds of every section will be a qualifying round to determine the top four scorers who will move on to play in the semifinals and finals. Those who do not make it into the final four will continue to play rounds 8 and 9 to determine 5th place and below.

The tournament is the brainchild of International Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, a world-famous chess commentator often called on to be the voice of some of the biggest chess matches in the world.

Thanh enters world women's vault finals in China

Vietnamese gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh has won a berth in the final match of the women's vault event at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in China.

Thanh, who won a bronze medal at last week's Asian Games, scored 14,800 points to rank sixth among 28 athletes.

She will compete against her toughest rival, Hong Uh Jong of North Korea, in the final match on Saturday. Hong won the gold medal at last week's Asian Games. Thanh also took part in the beam and all-round events but failed to advance to the finals.

Vietnamese football squad defeated by Japanese students

Vietnam’s strong squad led by coach Toshiya Miura faced a 1-3 loss to Japanese students in a friendly match during their training course in Osaka, Japan on October 8.

Japanese players scored two goals in the first half, and their third score was made in the second half before striker Vu Phong made an honourable goal for Vietnam in the last minutes of the match.

In preparation for the coming AFF Cup, Miura’s Vietnamese trainees will play two friendly matches with Japanese footballers who are competing in J-League 1 and J-League 2.

Nam Ky Khoi Nghia cycling tournament begins

The 17th Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Cycling Tournament will kick off at HCM City on Sunday, with 65 cyclists from 13 teams taking part.

The first of the seven-stage 847-kilometer event will take place on an 87-kilometer route to Vuong Tau City and will end on October 18.

VN lose second match at AFC championship qualifier

South Korea defeated Viet Nam 3-0 yesterday in the secondgroup match of the Asian Football Confederations U16 WomensChampionship 2015 qualifier.

It took the Koreans 31 minutes to score the first goal at the Hang Jebat Stadium, with the contribution of midfielder Park Hye-jeong.

Another midfielder Yang Hyeon-ji then scored just two minutes before the end of the first half.

Substitute Yang Seo-yeong, who came in the 52nd minute, scored the third andfinal goal.

It is the second victory of the Koreans, and the second defeat of Viet Nam.

In a Group C match, Australia beat Hong Kong 10-0 at the Hang

Jebat Stadium. Australia will play Koreaon Thursdayto decide the group winner that will play in the eight-team-strongfinals to be held in China next year.

Viet Nam will face Hong Kong in the last group match. Both sides have already been disqualified from this qualifier.

Myanmar welcomes Asian U19 football teams

A ceremony took place in Myanmar ’s capital city of Nay Pyi Taw on October 7 to welcome 16 teams participating in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U19 Championship 2014.

A t the event, the teams enjoyed Myanmar ’s traditional dances and received gifts from the country’s Minister of Sports U Tin Sann.

The AFC U19 Championship, a competition among 16 Asian leading teams, will be held on October 9-23 at two stadiums in Yangon city.

In the first competition day, Vietnamese players will compete against their rivals from the Republic of Korea, which currently holds a record of winning the tournament for 12 times during its 38 sessions.

Four teams that enter the semi-finals will be entitled to play at the FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand in 2015.

Vietnam football team aims for U20 World Cup

Coach Guillaume Graechen confirmed that the U19 team is determined to be part of the U20 World Cup at the press conference before the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship, which will kick-off in Myanmar on October 9.

In order to earn a ticket to the 2015 FIFA U20 World Cup, Vietnam must get into semi-finals. But first they must win the group stage, as the U19 national team was grouped with strong teams including China, Japan and South Korea.

At the conference, Graechen said their getting a place in the AFC U-19 Championship is the ticket to U20 World Cup. Being grouped with strong teams will bring challenges, but he is confident the team can deal with the pressure. Graechen said that he knows the style of the Japanese team and has researched some of the Chinese team's matches. However, he has little information about South Korea.

Kim Sang Ho, coach of South Korean team, said that he did not know much about Vietnamese team either, so the match might not be easy. In addition, South Korea is in the position of defending their championship.

Coach Suzuki Masakazu of Japan said that they do understand the Vietnamese team because they have played several matches already.

The Chinese coach Zheng Xiong expressed great respect for the teams of Japan and South Korea.

Mai Hung represents Vietnam at world junior chess championships

Top female chess master, Nguyen Thi Mai Hung, is competing for Vietnam at the World Junior Chess Championships 2014 (for boys and girls under 20) underway in Pune, India from October 6-19.

Mai Hung emerged victorious during her first two matches, beating Angelina Fransson of Sweden in the first round on Monday, and overcoming J Saranya in their second game Tuesday. Third-round matches are scheduled for today.

The players are battling it out in a 13-round Swiss format. The winner of the boys’ category qualifies for the World Cup 2016, part of the World Championship Cycle 2015-2017, while the girls’ champion will go through to the World Women’s Championship 2015.

Mai Hung and teammate, Vo Thi Kim Phung were not as successful at last year’s event held in Kocaeli, Turkey, finishing 29th and 41st among 77 participants with seven and 6.5 points, respectively.

After this tournament, Mai Hung will train in preparation for the 7th Vietnam National Games, slated for December in the northern province of Nam Dinh.