International badminton tourney concludes in Hanoi

The 2012 Ciputra Hanoi - Vietnam International Challenge badminton tournament ended in Hanoi on April 1.

The week-long event attracted 300 outstanding players from 24 countries and territories around the world, who completed in five events: men’s singles, womens’ singles, men’s doubles, womens’ doubles, and mixed doubles.

As many as 48 Vietnamese players took part in the event in a hope of earning a ticket to the coming summer Olympics in London, but they all failed.

In the mixed doubles event, two Singaporean competitors Chrisnanta Danny Bawa Piazebadiah (the world’s No.27) and Faisal Hafizla defeated their Indonesian rivals 2-1 to claim the champion title.

In the women’s singles event, Thai player Jindapon Nichaon trounced Mine Ayumi from Japan to secure first prize.

The organizing board awarded cash prizes worth US$15,000 in total.

Thanh Hoa smash Dong Thap in V-League clash

Thanh Hoa secured an impressive victory in round 12 of the national V-League by defeating Dong Thap 4-0 on their home turf yesterday.

It took Thanh Hoa just 10 minutes to open the score thanks to foreign striker duo Dasilva Ramos Gilmar and Lemessa Fikru Teferra. Gilmar set up a perfect pass from the right wing and Teferra tapped the ball easily into the net.

Fifteen minutes after the break it was 2-0 for the host when Le Quoc Phuong converted a straight shot from 25m to an impressive goal, which could be considered one of the best of this round.

Substitute Nguyen Viet Thang, who joined the team just weeks ago, made it 3-0 several minutes later after a solo performance and an accurate shot.

The teams arrived at the final result in the 67th minute, when Le Van Thang out-manoeuvred goalie Tran Buu Ngoc and all other Dong Thap defenders.

With their win, Thanh Hoa jumped from ninth to eighth position with 16 points after 12 matches. They will travel to the Central Highlands to play former champions Hoang Anh Gia Lai next round.

Also yesterday, Becamex Binh Duong lost 1-2 to Hoang Anh Gia Lai, despite playing at their home Go Dau Stadium.

The win was Gia Lai's fourth victory this season with goals by Paulo Ernesto Perreira in the 12th minute and Aganun Olushola in first half extra time.

Host Binh Duong tried their best but could only manage one goal from a penalty in the 35th minute by Nguyen Hoang Helio. The loss caused them to fall from second to fourth place. They will play Khatoco Khanh Hoa on Sunday in the 13th round.

Later in the day, a 1-0 win over Sai Gon FC pushed Ha Noi T&T to the top of the rankings.

T&T took full advantage of their home turf to establish their domination over Sai Gon FC, and they waited only five minutes to score a goal.

National team member Nguyen Van Quyet eliminated all Sai Gon's defenders and the goalkeeper to tap the ball into an empty net.

The host continued to create a number of opportunities but they failed to make another goals.

However a 1-0 win is enough for them to top the table with 23 points, three more than runner-up SHB Da Nang who trounced Ninh Binh 3-0 in an early match on Saturday.

In other results, defending champions Song Lam Nghe An beat Khanh Hoa 3-1; Hai Phong were tied 1-1 by Ha Noi Football Club and Kienlongbank Kien Giang lost 1-3 to Navibank Sai Gon.

A young fish dreaming of bigger ponds

At the age of 22, Nguyen Ngoc Quang Bao became the youngest swimmer to earn several gold medals at national competitions, and he still aspires to gain higher achievement in international races.

Bao started swimming lessons at the age of 7, and he soon found his interest in this water-based sport. Later he was called to the city’s swimming team and joined national contests.

In 2004, he was sent to Australia for training as the first batch of the ‘golden generation’, who was sponsored by the government to improve their talents overseas.

It was the first time that the then-14 year-old Bao had been away from home. He struggled to overcome the language barrier and tried to survive in the new environment. Two months later, Bao won a gold medal in a local youth swimming competition held in Australia.

In 2005, he graduated from Doncaster Secondary College and returned to Vietnam. Soon he won a gold medal at anational swimming race in Hanoi and became the youngest athlete to achieve the highest result at the competition.

He also passed the entrance exam of three local universities and chose to study at the city’s Sports and Physical Gymnastics University.

When he was at his peak, Bao suddenly injured his left shoulder during intense practices.

“My deltoid muscle and cartilage were damaged. I was told by the doctor that the success rate of the necessary operation was 50 percent,” Bao recalled.

Bao thought that he had to give up his dream until he joined a charity event organized by the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in the Mekong Delta in 2006. After hearing many unfortunate stories there, the young swimmer realized that his difficulty was small compared to those faced by the people he had met there.

He then decided to undergo an operation and nurtured a chance to get back into racing.

Although his left shoulder could not be cured totally, Bao decided to switch to diving to use the power of his legs.

Last March, Bao brought seven gold medals to Ho Chi Minh City, including four in diving, and broke five national records at the National swimming contest held in Hue.

“Bao has had no competition in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam in the swimming and diving fields since 2010,” said Chung Tan Phong, General Secretary of HCM City Underwater Sport Federation.

Considering himself ambitious, Bao does not accept his current status as Vietnam’s best and wants to challenge himself on the international stage.

“I want to conquer international competitions and become a good coach,” he said.