Vietnam triumphs at futsal championship in Spain

Vietnamese men’s futsal team won the championship at a friendly four-team tournament in Naron, Spain on April 13 after trouncing the host’s Cidade de Naròn FS 4-3 in the final.

The team, u nder the guidance of head coach Bruno Garcia Formosa, is in Spain for a short-term training course in preparation for the finals of Asian Futsal 2014, which is slated for late April in Ho Chi Minh City.

The team has set a target of entering the list of top eight Asian futsal teams.

Formosa, whose contract lasts until June 30, 2017, is expected to improve the team’s performance and the development of futsal in Vietnam, according to the VFF.

Formosa is a member and trainer of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (REEF). He won the Ramon Cobo, an award for best REEF coach, in the 2011-2012 season. He worked in China and Peru before coming to Vietnam.-

Martial artists face stiff challenge

Viet Nam's karatedo martial artists will face stiff competition from their regional counterparts at the third Southeast Asia Karatedo Championships.

The tournament will kick off on Wednesday at the Can Tho City's Indoor Stadium.

"Countries will send their best athletes to the tournament, because this is an excellent occasions to put their athletes to the test before the 18th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, next September," Can Tho's coach Nguyen Anh Tuan said.

"Athletes from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia will be the main opponents for the home athletes," he added.

A rough estimate of 300 martial artists from seven countries – Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and host Viet Nam – will compete for 39 sets of medals to be distributed among three age groups, 14-15, 16-17 and 18-and-above.

Viet Nam has the largest group of athletes, with 128, including big names such as Lang Thi Hoa, Nguyen Hoang Ngan and Vu Thi Nguyet Anh.

While Ngan has been unrivaled for years in the women's individual kata (performance) event, Anh has yet to find a worthy opponent in the women's kumite (combat) 50kg event.

This is the first time the Mekong Delta city has hosted the event, though it has sent several talented young athletes, such as Kieu Oanh and Pham Hoang Nhi, who are expected to retain their titles this year.

The country has set a goal of finishing in second place. Viet Nam came in third in the two previous tournaments.

VN to compete at Youth Olympics

Beach volleyball athletes Nguyen Thi Thu Van and Phan Thi Bich Vi of Viet Nam have qualified to compete at the upcoming Youth Olympics in China.

The duo took part in a qualification tournament held in Khanom, Thailand last week and grabbed their berth alongside teams from Australia and Chinese Taipei.

Viet Nam now have six teams competing in the Nanjing event that will be held from August 16-28. The other sports in which the country has qualified are taekwondo, rowing and weightlifting.

U19 squad plays friendly match with students in Belgium

During their one-month training in Belgium, Vietnam’s U19 team took time out to play a friendly match with Vietnamese students on April 12 at the campus of Louvain University.

The match took place in a cozy atmosphere thanks to strong support by the Vietnamese students in Belgium and the U19 players displayed their good professional skills through excellent scores.

Vietnamese students were impressed by the match although they were defeated by the more experienced strong U19 opponents.

The U19 squad expressed their pleasure  with their current training in Belgium, saying it is excellent preparation for the Asia U19 tournament, scheduled for Myanmar late this year.

Long An levels 2-2 against Nghe An

Dong Tam Long An went home with one point from their V-League 2-2 draw against former champions Song Lam Nghe An yesterday.

Phan Thanh Giang of Long An fired his first goal at the 21st minute and closed the game with another goal for his side in the additional time.

His teammate, Tran Hoai Nam, tapped in an easy ball in the last second of the first half, while Nghe An's Tran Phi Son converted a low shot into a goal four minutes after the break.

The draw did not help either team in the ranking table. Long An is still in the second from the bottom, while Nghe An remain in seventh place.

In Saturday's fixture, Dong Nai ended Thanh Hoa's winning streak, as they showed their most brilliant win of 8-0. They also sent Thanh Hoa to second place.

Thanh Hoa played with 10 men from the 10th minute, as goalkeeper To Vinh Loi was sent off because of a serious fault.

"I was not surprised about the win, I just did not think there would be an 8-0 result," said coach Tran Binh Su of Dong Nai.

"We deserved to win because we were the better team with suitable tactics," he said. "I knew them. What we needed to do was block their best players, Nastja Ceh and Danny van Bakel."

Coach Mai Duc Chung said: "This loss is a lesson for my players. It shows that we were not as strong as people thought. We lost because we could not manage the game, while Dong Nai were too good."

The win brought Dong Nai into the tournament's top three with 19 points.

Becamex Binh Duong won 2-0 over hosts Hai Phong and jumped to the top position with as many 23 points, as Thanh Hoa still has one game to spare.

In another match, former winners SHB Da Nang beat Quang Nam 3-0.

The latest match of the 12th round will kick off today between bottom-placed Hung Vuong An Giang and defending champions Ha Noi T&T. The match will be aired live on VTV6 channel.

Tennis team contest kicks off

The National Teams Tennis Championships began yesterday, as Da Nang 2 and Military 2 were winners in Hue City.

In the men's draw, Da Nang 2 beat Vinh Phuc 2-1, while Military 2 won 2-0 over HCM City 2. Da Nang 2 will meet Military 1, who received a bye to the second round today, while Military 2 is to play Ca Mau team.

On the women's event, Military beat Hai Duong 2-0 and entered the first semi-final match, where they are to meet Da Nang. The second semi-final match will be held between HCM City and Kien Giang.

The national tournament attracted 50 men and women to compete in the men's and women's team categories. The finals are scheduled on April 17.