VietNamNet Bridge reviews the most outstanding sporting events of Vietnam in 2012.

Vietnam to host Asian Games 2019

On the afternoon of November 8, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced that Vietnam will be the host of the Asian Games (Asiad) in 2019, ending the race for the right to host the event.

At the plenary session of the OCA held in Macau on November 8, OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah announced the results of the race for the right to host the 18th Asian Games in 2019. Accordingly, Vietnam passed Indonesia to become the host of the Games for the first time.

Previously, Vietnam successfully hosted the 22nd SEA Games and the Asian Indoor Games in 2009. The country will also host the Asian Beach Sports Games 2016 before the Asian Games in 2019.

Vietnam’s scheme to hold the Asian Games 2019 is accompanied with the plans to build sports facilities in the north, approved by the Government.

In the coming years, Vietnam will complete the construction of an inter-provincial road system and improve the infrastructure of northern provinces and cities, which will host events of the Asian Games 2019.

Vietnam hopes that the Asian Games 2019, to be held at the cost of $150 million, will be the introduction of a new Vietnam to the world after seven years.

The event received mixed feedback. Besides the fear that Asiad is a too big sports arena for Vietnam, the biggest concern is the funding. Many people believe that Vietnam’s application for hosting of the Asian Games 2019 at the time of economic crisis is a wrong decision.

No medal for Vietnam at 2012 Olympics

The Vietnamese delegation at the 2012 Olympics.

Vietnamese sports delegation to the London Olympics with 18 athletes in the sports of gymnastics, shooting, judo, wrestling, taekwondo, track and field, badminton, rowing, fencing, weightlifting and swimming. This is the highest number of Vietnamese athletes at an Olympic games.

However, Vietnamese athletes did not win a single medal. Many athletes lost themselves and performed very poorly, even far below themself in practice.

Phan Thi Ha Thanh won a Asian gold medal




The top female gymnast of Vietnam--Phan Thi Ha Thanh won a gold medal for horse jump on November 13, at the Asian Championships in Fujian, China.

In the horse jumping content, Ha Thanh successfully performed a highly difficult exercise. With a score of 14,700, Ha Thanh overcame two strong opponents from North Korea, with a big gap, to win the gold medal.

The success of Ha Thanh was a surprise because her rivals were the best gymnasts of China, Japan, South Korea and North Korea. In particular, the host China is a very strong team, including Olympic champions and world champions.

This is the first Asian gold medal of Vietnam’s gymnastics. Earlier, Ha Thanh made a historic victory: winning a world bronze medal and a card to the 2012 Olympics.

After this unexpected breakthrough achievement, Ha Thanh again won two gold medals in the Challenge Cup and Toyota Cup - two international tournaments attract the stars of the world in the last days of the year.

Child chess player wins world gold medal




When Vietnam’s top chess player Le Quang Liem could not maintain his impressive performance, a new face emerged. Nguyen Anh Khoi won the championship for the U10 event at the World Youth Chess Championships in Slovenia in November.

This victory ended four years of no world gold medal for Vietnamese chess and it is the second U10 championship after Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son’s title 12 years ago.

Anh Khoi won all 11 games. This is an absolute winning record that has not been made by any U10 world champion before.

Khoi’s achievement appeared in an article on the homepage of the famous chess site: www.chessdom.com. The article said that after this tournament, the Vietnamese boy will be widely known in the world.

The achievement of Khoi in this tournament is quite surprisingly but it is not too hard to understand because Khoi previously ranked 7th in the Asian Youth Chess Championships 2011 in the U10 group. In the Southeast Asian Youth Chess 2012, Khoi won the championship in the U10 group after taking 8 points after 9 games.

World famous chess coach Adrian Mikhalchishin, who coached famous player, has paid attention to Khoi after he defeated Viktor Matviishen in the 9th game though he held the black pawns. According to Adrian, most of Khoi’s moves in this game are the best moves that a player can make. He said: "I was really impressed, actually all moves are the best moves. Please remember this name."

V-League crisis

Nguyen Duc Kien.

After the grandiose statements by tycoon Nguyen Duc Kien, the boss of Hanoi FC, and the establishment of the Vietnam Professional Football JSC (VPF), Vietnamese fans expected a new football season with revolutionary changes. Yes, it has changed to the worse.

VPF did not leave much impression, beyond the noisy dispute over the television rights of the domestic leagues.

V-League 2012 ended with negative signs. The economic crisis has made adverse impacts on football. Many bosses withdrew investment in football. Nguyen Duc Kien was arrested and his team was disbanded. Nguyen Vinh Tho sold Navibank Saigon FC for VND12 billion and the team was then dissolved. Do Quang Hien withdrew capital from Hanoi T&T and SHB Danang.

Hoang Manh Truong was disappointed with the attitude of his players and threatened to disband Ninh Binh FC. Le Tien Anh quietly sold Khanh Hoa FC. Nguyen Duc Thuy transferred Saigon Xuan Thanh FC to his brother, Nguyen Xuan Thuy.

V-League 2013 will have only 12 teams, instead of 14 teams while the First Division Tournament 2013 will have only 8 teams, compared to 14 of the 2012 season.

The transfer prices of players have dropped and many player are unemployed after their teams were disbanded.

National football team failed at AFF Cup




When the domestic leagues go down, the fans placed their little hope on the national football team and they expected a miracle in the AFF Cup.

Under the guidance of coach Phan Thanh Hung, the most talented coach of Vietnam at present, the Vietnamese team was thoroughly invested with physical training courses and friendly matches ahead of the tournament.

However, in all three matches of the round table held in Bangkok (Thailand), the team performed the worst playing style so far. Vietnam had to struggle to get a 1-1 draw against Myanmar. It lost to the Philippines 0-1 in the second game and 1-3 against Thailand in the last game.

Coach Phan Thanh Hung had to resign.

Compiled by Nam Nguyen