Vietnamese weightlifters are taking part in the 2015 IWF Youth World Championships that began in Lima, Peru, on April 5.

The team members are Nguyen Tran Anh Tuan and Ly Quang Vinh (men's 56kg), Le Nguyen Quoc Bao (men's 50kg) and Le Khong My Phuong (women's 44kg).

Tuan won a silver medal at the 2013 Asian Youth Games and Youth Olympic Games in 2014. Vinh bagged two silver medals and one bronze medal at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships last year.

The tournament will end on April 12.

Golden Ball winner to be named next week

The winner of Vietnam’s Golden Ball will be announced at a ceremony set for 8 p.m. on April 13 at Ben Thanh Theater in HCMC’s District 1.

The ceremony, directed by Hoang Duan, will also feature performances by renowned comedians Huu Nghia, Thanh Tung, Bao Tri, Phuong Binh and Dang Luu, and singers Phuong Thanh, Nguyen Loc and Minh Thuan.

Especially, director Hoang Duan has asked Cap Anh Tai, a popular composer of football songs to write a new piece entitled the Golden Ball of Vietnam to show excitement and jubilance of football’s atmosphere.

The program will revive 20 years of local football by a documentary to be broadcast on stage. Audiences will have a chance to meet some of the first generations of footballers. The organizers will honor late journalist Minh Hung, co-founder of the Golden Ball Awards, who recently died of illness, with a moment of silence.

Trang, Minh to see strong rivals at Singapore Open

Viet Nam Vu Thi Trang will face fourth seed Wang Yihan of China in the first round of the women's singles at the Singapore Super Series badminton competition today.

Trang broke into the top 50 last week, while her rival is a former world No 1.

In the men's draw, top Vietnamese player Nguyen Tien Minh also faces stiff competition in the first round against No 3 seed Kidambi Srikanth of India.

The Singapore Open kicked off yesterday and will wrap up on Sunday.

Trang and Minh will also represent Viet Nam at the Asian Championships from April 21-26. 

Miura optimistic about Vietnam football squad at SEA Games 28

Coach Toshiya Miura is confident Vietnam’s national football team can win gold at the coming SEA Games in Singapore.

Olympic (Under-23) football team (Olympic Vietnam) won the Asian U23 qualification round and now is eager to prepare for the SEA Games 28.

The team will join the V-League for one month before gathering in Hanoi on May 5 to prepare for SEA Games 28.

Olympic Vietnam has beaten several regional rivals, including Olympic Malaysia, Olympic Indonesia and Olympic Macau.

“Our football players are showing their good manners after the Asian U23 qualification round," said Miura. “We’re targetting to take the lead in Southeast Asia and gradually reach the Middle East football level. Initially, I’ll gather football players who took part in the ASIAD17 and the recent Asian U23 qualification round. We have a really young team and many opportunities for accomplishment.”

Miura said Thailand may be Vietnam’s major rival at SEA Games, but they can be defeated.

“I believe that Olympic Vietnam is eligible to won gold medal at SEA Game 28,” he said.

Vietnam shooting sets new goals

Vietnam’s national shooting squad hope to win four gold medals at the 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, a realistic downgraded goal after some of its favourable events were dropped from the Games’ programme.

As a result, the team will fail to repeat its seven-gold-medal streak from the previous two games.

According to Head Coach Nguyen Thi Nhung, Vietnam plans to compete in 12 events at the 28th SEA Games, taking place in Singapore this June.

In order to prepare for the SEA Games, the team will train in the Republic of Korea and participate in the World Shooting Championship there, after which they will fly to the US for their final training camp.

Vietnam’s leading position in shooting at the regional games will be challenged by Thailand and Singapore, according to Nhung.-

VNA/Dantri/SGT