Duan wins third stage at cycling event from Gia Nghia to Buon Ma Thuot

With a sprint to the finish line, Le Van Duan continued his winning run with a first place finish in the third stage of the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia cycling tournament yesterday, Nov 19.

Le Van Duan is the first pedallist to reach the finish.

Nguyen Thanh Tam of Loc Troi Group and Nguyen Truong Tai of VUS-HCM City were the runners-up.

Duan of VUS-HCM City clocked a top speed of 36.293kmh during the 124km stage from Gia Nghia Town of Dak Nong Province to Buon Ma Thuot City of Dak Lak Province. His total time yesterday was 3hr and 28.18sec.

He also finished first on Wednesday's 117km-long second stage from Dong Xoai to Gia Nghia and currently holds the green jersey as the best sprinter with 40 points.

Duan claimed the yellow jersey for the best overall time of 9:21.36 after three stages.

In team rankings, the Domesco Pharmacy Dong Thap 2 team took the lead with a combined time of 28:05.56, followed by Mathnasium HCM City and VUS-HCM City.

Today, 75 cyclists will compete in the 185km-fourth stage from Buon Ma Thuot City to Nha Trang City.

Da Nang to host Skateboarding Championship

The central city in co-operation with World Skateboarding Grand Prix (WSGP) will host the first Viet Nam Skateboarding Championship next year.

President and CEO of WSGP, Tim McFerran said in a meeting with officials of the central city that the championship will be a prelude for series plans that help develop Da Nang as a major centre of the sport in Viet Nam and the Southeast Asia region.

"Viet Nam will be fit for the sport with beautiful landscapes and beaches. The sport would help boost tourism by drawing skateboarders to events hosted in Da Nang," Tim said.

"The country would have representatives at the Olympics Games in Tokyo 2020."

As scheduled, the city would allocate an area on Ngu Hanh Son public beach to build up an arena for the first championship.

The World Skateboarding Grand Prix will also help Da Nang plan for development of the sport in the future with Olympic training facilities as the city would host the Olympic qualifying events.

Skateboarding has debuted in Ha Noi and HCM City in Viet Nam.

Golf tournament to celebrate magazine's 10th anniversary

Golf & Life Magazine's 10th Anniversary Golf Tournament will tee off next Tuesday, November 24, at the Twin Doves Golf Club in the southern province of Binh Duong.

The tournament is expected to feature 144 golfers who will compete in three divisions based on their handicaps – Division A (HDC 00-15), Division B (HDC 16-28), and Division C (HDC 29+ and no HDC)

The biggest prize, for a hole-in-one, is a Lexus ES305 car worth VND2.7 billion (US$121,300).

Others prizes include a Vertu mobile phone, Lucky Star diamond ring, cash, and an ancient Scotland golf stick for each winner.

Hai Duong hosts Lining Cup

The top national badminton tournament, Lining Cup, began on November 18 in the northern Hai Duong Province.

The tournament is being jointly organised by the National Sports Administration, Viet Nam Badminton Federation, Hai Duong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Lining brand.

Forty players from 12 teams nationwide will compete in men's and women's singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles matches in the tournament.

The country's top players Vu Thi Trang and Nguyen Thi Sen will also compete in the event, which will end on November 22.

Trang won the women's singles title at the same event last year.

It is one of the most prestigious tournaments of the country and offers VND200 million (US$9,000) in prize money. All matches are being broadcast live on Thethao TV channel.

VNS