Viet Nam to compete at Asian volleyball championships

Viet Nam have placed in Group B of the Asian Women's U19 Volleyball Championship, which begins on July 17 in Chinese Taipei.

Viet Nam will compete against China, Kazakhstan and New Zealand.

Eleven teams will compete in a round-robin format in three groups, with the strongest two from each group advancing to the quarter-final round.

The final is set for July 24.

Viet Nam falls short at shooting competition

Viet Nam continued losing at the ongoing International Sport Shooting Federation World Cup Rifle-Pistol-Shotgun competition in China.

Three marksmen, Ha Minh Thanh, Kieu Thanh Tu and Pham Anh Dat, failed to win in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol event yesterday.

Thanh placed 12th, followed by Tu at 24th and Dat at 25th.

The winner was Kim Jun-hong of South Korea, who scored 298 points. The two runners-up were Martin Strnad of the Czech Republic and Zhang Jian from China.

Earlier, Le Thi Hoang Ngoc only reached 23rd in the women's 10m air pistol competition.

Viet Nam's shooters will next compete in the men's 50m pistol and women's 25m pistol competition.

The competition will end on July 9.

Players become college students without sitting exams

Ten players from the national U19 football teams have become freshmen, without taking examinations, at the HCM City Sports College.

Due to the Ministry of Education and Training regulation, all graduates who are members of the national teams, and who take part in international competitions, will be recruited into the nation's colleges and universities.

These players are from the Hoang Anh Gia Lai-Arsenal JMG Institute, who played key roles in Viet Nam's silver medal victory at a recent regional championship.

The U19 team will next compete in the ASEAN U22 Football Championship on August 9-23 in Brunei and the Asian Football Confederation Championship from October 9-23 in Myanmar.

Nam prepares for Thailand test

National No 1 Ly Hoang Nam will compete at the Thailand F9 Futures of the International Tennis Federation Men's Future event on July 7-13.

Nam will have to start from the qualifying round. The draw will be released soon.

It is the third competition for Nam in Thailand. Earlier, he entered Round of 16 in the F7 Futures before losing in the first main round of the F8 Futures early this week.

Minh seeded four at Taipei Open

Vietnamese world No 17 Nguyen Tien Minh will take part in the Yonex Open Chinese Taipei badminton tournament.

Minh, who is seeded No 4, will meet world No 177 Kok Hong Woon of Malaysia in the first round of the men's singles event. It will be the first match between the two rivals.

Minh's teammate, Vu Thi Trang, will play Ksenoa Polikarpova of Russia in the women's singles category.

Trang will also compete in the doubles event paired with Vu Thi Sen. They will play Ya Ching Hsu and Yu Po Pai of the host side in the first match.

The Grand Prix Gold tournament will kick off on July 15 and wrap up on July 20 with a basket of US$200,000 up for grabs.

Young masters compete

The National Age Groups Chess Championships will be held in HCM City from July 8-19.

Young masters will compete in standard, rapid and blitz chess in both boys' and girls' individual and team categories.

The outstanding players will form the core of the national team which will participate at the continental and world championships for U20s late this year.

VN shooters miss the mark

Two-time winner Hoang Xuan Vinh failed to make the final round at the International Sport Shooting Federation World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun in China.

Vinh ranked 12th after the qualification and did not find a place among the top eight athletes in the men's 10m air pistol event.

His teammates Tran Quoc Cuong and Ho Thanh Hai also performed below expectations, ranking 10th and 30th, respectively.

Their next event will be the 50m pistol class tomorrow.

Other Vietnamese marksmen at the World Cup are Bui Quang Nam, Ha Minh Thanh, Kieu Thanh Tu and Pham Anh Dat, all competing in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol event.

Le Thi Hoang Ngoc will compete in both the women's 25m pistol and 10m air pistol pools today. The competition will conclude on July 9.

HCM City dominate national tennis championship

HCM City established their superiority at the National Cadet and Teenager Tennis Championships which ended in Can Tho City yesterday (July 3).

The national tennis hub won five gold, five silver and five bronze medals.

Soc Trang came second with two gold medals, followed by Binh Duong which pocketed one title.

More than 280 athletes from 24 teams participated in the tournament, marking a sharp increase in the number of participants compared with the previous years.

They competed in singles events for boys and girls in age groups ranging from U10 to U18, while the doubles events were held for players in the age groups U16 and U18.