Champions League trophy in Ha Noi

The UEFA Champions League trophy arrived in Ha Noi yesterday together with former Arsenal football star Robert Pires on part of a round-the-world tour.

Thousands of the capital's fans visited Hang Day Stadium to celebrate the event and hold the famous trophy.

Many of them were also delighted to meet Pires, one of France and Arsenal's most famous players, who is also a UEFA ambassador.

Famous moments from throughout the competition's history were also on display in an historical montage organised by Heineken, a partner of the UEFA Champions League since 2005.

VFF approves Coach Hoang Van Phuc’s resignation

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has accepted head coach Hoang Van Phuc’s resignation and agreed to the early termination of his contract.

The announcement was made on April 4 following a meeting between VFF Vice Chairman Tran Quoc Tuan, General Secretary Le Hoai Anh and coach Phuc.

Under the leadership of Coach Phuc, the U-23 team has achieved commendable success, but after the team failed to make this year’s semifinals of the 27th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, the coach decided to call it quits.

Coach Phuc made the decision because he wants the VFF to locate another highly skilled manager who will be able to guide the national team to success at this year’s 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup and beyond.

VFF vice chairman Tran Quoc Tuan assumes responsibility for seeking a new coach for the national team in April and is reportedly keen on finding a Japanese successor.

Viet Nam lose in Davis Cup play-off

Viet Nam lost 2-3 to Sri Lanka in the Davis Cup play-off in the Asia/Oceania zone group II in Da Lat yesterday.

In the first men's singles match, Nguyen Hoang Thien defeated Sharmal Dissnayake 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to level the score at 2-2.

However in the second rubber, Viet Nam' No 2 Do Minh Quan was overcome by the powerful Harshana Godamana, 3-6, 5-7, 0-6.

As the winners, Sri Lanka will stay in Group II, while Viet Nam will drop to Group III next year.

Tien Minh’s 8th position unchanged on BWF rankings

Vietnam’s top player Nguyen Tien Minh maintains 8th place in the latest ratings by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

Minh’s successful performance at the Ciputra Hanoi-Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge 2014 raised his total points by 4,000, enough to retain his 8th place position in the world rankings.

Minh won the Yonex Sunrise champion title after defeating Malaysian strong opponent Tan Chun Seang of Malaysia (world No.50) 2-0.

He surpassed Du Pengyu of China and Son Wan Ho of the Republic of Korea to rank 8th after being placed 10th previously.

Born in HCM City in 1983, Tien Minh became the champion of the International Malaysia Open Tournament in 2004.

He was listed among the world’s top ten for the first time thanks to his 2-0 victory over the host player Boonsak Ponsana at 2009 Thailand Grand Prix.

Minh secured the 5th place on the BWF ratings - his highest ranking so far – in December 2010 with 51,844 points.

Wrestlers seek continental golds

Viet Nam will compete at the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships in Kazakhstan from April 23-27.

The tournament will provide a key warm-up for national athletes ahead of the 17th Asian Games in South Korea in September.

The Vietnamese athletes will compete in the Greco-Roman and freestyle categories for both men and women.

Golfers compete for poor students

More than 140 golfers have registered to take part in the Swing for Kids charity golf tournament at the Kings Island Golf Course, 45km from Ha Noi.

The cash collected from the eighth tournament will be given to outstanding students and used to upgrade school infrastructure nationwide.

Volleyballers prepare for Thailand

Lienviet Post Bank will represent Viet Nam at the coming Asian Women's Volleyball Clubs Championship in Thailand.

The VTV Cup champions are in Group A with Hisamitsu Springs from Japan, a team from Iran and the hosts Nakhonratchasima VC.

Group B consists of Tianjin Bohai from China, KSEB from India, VAS from Singapore, PLDT from the Philippines and teams from Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei.

The names of the clubs from Iran, Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei will be confirmed later.

The championship will be held in Nakhon Pathom from April 17 to 25. The winning team will represent Asia at the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship 2014, to be held in Zurich, Switzerland, from May 7 to 11.

Last year, China's Guangdong Evergrande reigned supreme at the Asian Championship and was placed third at the 2013 FIVB Championship.

Three teams have already qualified for the world competition. They comprise the host club Volero Zurich; Brazil's SESI-SP, which won the 14th Women's South American Club Championship in February; and Russia's Dinamo Kazan, which beat world club champions VikifBank Istanbul from Turkey in straight sets in the final of the recently held CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Two more teams – to be jointly decided by FIVB and the organisers – will complete the line-up of the clubs participating in the World Club Championship event.

Juniors set for tennis tournament

Vietnamese players Huynh Minh Hung and Nguyen Van Phuong will take part in the ITF's China Junior 5 to be held from April 8 to 12 in Shenzen.

Hung and Phuong will have to start with the qualification round.

The draw will be held in the next few days.

The event is the second international tournament for both players. Earlier, they competed in the Brunei Junior Circuit last month. Hung was eliminated in the second match of the main round, while Phuong was defeated in the second round of the qualifiers.

Binh Duong charge gains momentum

Becamex Binh Duong have all the advantages on their side to beat Dong Tam Long An in their 11th round encounter on Sunday at the Eximbank V-League 2014 and move closer to the top place of the V-League ranking table.

After making massive changes to both the dugout and the squad, the former two-time champions are a team capable of challenging for a third title, which has eluded them since 2009.

But after a terrible start to the season, the team had to appoint a new coach to replace veteran coach Le Thuy Hai, who returned to the club where he had won two titles to work as their technical director.

The changes have paid dividends as the club, consisting of qualified and experienced players, has won six games and drawn only one out of seven recent games, to move to second place with 17 points.

The strikers trio of Abass Dieng and Huynh Kesley Alves, Nguyen Anh Duc and industrious midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang, all being in good form, have been instrumental in the club's recent success, scoring a combined 15 goals out of 22 goals in five recent wins.

And their impressive run will not end this Sunday when they host Long An, which has been struggling all the way from the kick-off day of the season, having not tasted any victory in the last nine matches. It would be the shock of the season if Binh Duong loses the match.

A win on Sunday would also help Binh Duong put pressure on Thanh Hoa, which are leading the table with 23 points, and Ha Noi T&T, which are ranked third with 15 points but still have three games in hand. The latter two teams do not play this weekend.

Than Quang Ninh, after a long run of success, suddenly lost its momentum with three successive defeats over the past three weekends. But they have a good chance to stop the unfortunate period and regain faith from their ardent fans.

The newly-promoted team's opponent will be Hung Vuong An Giang, who deserves to be named as a six-pointer given that the team have never won away and have secured only two draws at home in nine games played.

Hai Phong, which rested last week and is in ninth place with 12 points, will have to put its 3-1 defeat by Song Lam Nghe An a fortnight ago behind them to face Hoang Anh Gia Lai, which ranks just above Hai Phong by courtesy of a goal difference.

Dong Nai is likely to join the top three as the team are favoured to win over QNK Quang Nam today at home.

Quang Ninh Coal broke a run of three consecutive losses yesterday, beating An Giang 2-0 on home turf.

The team launched strong attacks that pressurised the An Giang defence constantly, reaping rich dividends.

Quang Ninh's Nigerian midfielder Omoduemuke Piter Oghene fed Vu Minh Tuan near the penalty area and the captain lost time in firing a shot that beat goalkeeper Nguyen Minh Nhut in the 31st minute.

Towards the end of the first half, Oghene grabbed a goal for himself after a quick counter-attack.

The second half saw An Giang's rearrange their line-up and try harder, but it only netted them three yellows cards and no goal.

The visitors' only chance came when halfback Bui Van Sang had the ball in the box, but his shot went wide.

Their fifth win helped Quang Ninh return to the top three group in V-League with 17 points. An Giang's eighth defeat consigned them to the bottom of the table.

In another match yesterday, former champions Becamex Binh Duong beat Dong Tam Long An 3-1.

The hosts are in second place with 20 points now, having narrowed the gap between them and Thanh Hoa, who have 23 points and a match in hand.

In the next fixture, Binh Duong will travel to the North to face Hai Phong while Long An, standing second from bottom with four points, will cross nearly 1,000km to meet former champions Song Lam Nghe An.

VNS/VOV/VNS/Nhandan