Vietnamese tennis champ Ly Hoang Nam qualified for the quarter-finals of the ongoing International Tennis Federation (ITF) Group 1 tournament in the Philippines, after defeating Chinese No1 Zheng Weiqiang on March 20.

In the first set, Nam played with confidence at the beginning and claimed the 6-3 victory. He continued gathering steam in the second set, finishing it 6-3.

The victory over Zheng, the world No.46 seed, helped Nam secure 30 points to have a total of 401.25 points - equivalent to 46th position in ITF junior rankings.

However, Hoang Nam is unlikely to be listed in the ITF’s top 50 because other players are still playing in various tournaments.

Nam will go on to compete in the semi-finals of the championships if he wins the next match taking place on March 21.

Previously, Ly Hoang Nam fell to 60th of the ITF junior rankings following his defeats in two international tournaments in Thailand and Malaysia.

Thanh Hoa release striker Quan

V-League leader Thanh Hoa ended their contract with overseas striker Mac Hong Quan on Wednesday.

The club said Quan, who was called to the national team, did not play as well as expected.

Quan has spent significant time on the bench since the start of the season, overlooked for a berth in the forward line by Sunday Emmanuel and Le Van Tan.

"In the contract there is an article that allows us to end the contract before the required time if the player does not meet our needs.

"The managing board have conversed with each other and made the decision," said Nguyen Trong Hoai, Thanh Hoa's deputy chairman.

Last year, Quan scored five goals for Thanh Hoa leading to an offer of a one-year contract.

The new season runs for eight rounds with Thanh Hoa topping the leader board with 19 points after seven matches.

Thanh Hoa will face against Quang Nam in the V-League tomorrow on home turf.

Ha Long tournament gets recognition

The Asian Volleyball Confederation has recognised the Tuan Chau-Ha Long Women's Beach Volleyball Open as one of their official competitions this year.

The Confederation will organise 13 events in different countries. The Ha Long tournament is scheduled to be held from April 25 to 27 in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province.

Being organised since 2005, the competition has attracted many foreign teams over the last nine years and has established its reputation in the region.

Last year, 12 teams participated in the Vietnamese event and China 1 won the tournament.

Teen sets new swimming record

Long An resident Tran Thi Hong Cam, 13, stormed to first place in the women's 800m freestyle clocking a time of nine minutes 1.55 second to set a new record at the National Short-Course Swimming Championship in Hue City yesterday.

Cam cracked the old record of 9:2.36, set by Le Thi My Thao of Binh Phuoc last year. The time was the only record clocked on the second day of the championships.

Thao yesterday finished in third place with a time of 9:14.07.

Earlier, Da Nang's Hoang Quy Phuoc pocketed three more gold medals to mark his collection of six titles at the championship.

Phuoc dominated the men's individual 50m freestyle, and the 100m butterfly race before winning the men's 800m freestyle relay.

Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen of HCM City, who bagged three golds on the opening day, added two more golds yesterday.

Tuyen came first in the women's 100m individual medley in 1:6.02, and 50m butterfly in 28.71.

Da Nang continued to lead the medal tally with six golds, a silver and a bronze, while HCM City trailed with six golds and three bronzes.

Vietnam lost 2-4 to Birmingham in their last friendly match in the UK as part of their European tour on March 20.

Strata Marketing Group that sponsors the Vietnamese team’s tour arranged the clash against Birmingham after U19 Wolverhampton cancelled their scheduled match.

Vietnamese players surprised their hosts at the start of the match, with Cong Phuong opening the scoring from a free kick in the penalty box on 12 minutes.

Four minutes later right winger Van Son slotted in from a pass set up by his team mates, extending Vietnam’s lead.

Birmingham players produced counter-attacks and their efforts were awarded on 22 minutes, with George McGee narrowing the scoring.

In the second half, Birmingham continued dominating the game and they earned an equaliser by Liam Truslove.

A Vietnamese defender made an own goal on 87 minutes and Reece Brown scored the last goal in the extra time, sealing a 4-2 win over Vietnam.  

On March 21, Vietnamese players flew to Belgium, and their first opponents will be JMG Academy Belgium.

After Belgium, they will play other friendly matches in the Netherlands before returning to Vietnam late next month.