Vietnamese gymnasts eye medals at World Championships

Vietnam has sent a team of seven elite gymnasts to the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, taking place in Antwerp, Belgium from September 30-October 6, with the objective of winning at least one medal.   

The country’s six male representatives – Nguyen Ha Thanh, Le Thanh Tung, Nguyen Tuan Dat, Dinh Phuong Thanh, Hoang Cuong and Dang Nam – are vying for titles in the freestyle, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bars events.

2011 world bronze medalist Phan Thi Ha Thanh is the only female Vietnamese contestant at this year’s tournament, competing in the uneven bars, vault, balance beam and freestyle disciplines. Expectations are high for Thanh to repeat her podium finish at the previous competition in Tokyo two years ago, where she placed third on the vault with a score of 14.666.

The week-long event includes the participation of 410 athletes, 269 men and 141 women, representing 76 countries and territories all over the world. Most outstanding among these are the 2012 Olympic men’s all-around champion and three-time world champion, Kohei Uchimura from Japan, and the 2010 women’s world champion, Aliya Mustafina of Russia.

Viet Nam win Asian fencing silver after China loss

Viet Nam won a silver medal at the Asian Under-23 Fencing Championships in Kuwait on Saturday.

The Vietnamese athletes lost 43-45 to China in the final of the men's epee team.

Viet Nam took part in the tournament with 15 fencers from September 23-28.

U19 squad embark on Asian qualifiers

Viet Nam's Under-19 football team arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday to begin their campaign at the 2014 AFC U19 Championship qualification.

The squad, which won a silver medal at the Southeast Asian U19 Championship last month, will be strengthened by three players, who are Ksor Uc, Duy Manh and Tuyen Quang.

Injured players Luong Xuan Truong and Trum Tinh also with the team to give morale a boost under the guidance of Frenchman Grachen Guillume.

Viet Nam fell into Group F and will meet Chinese Taipei in the opening game, take on Hong Kong in the second and face Australia in the last game.

The winners of the nine groups along with the six best runner-up teams and host team Myanmar will advance to the 16-team final tournament.

Vietnam team xiangqi championships to begin

The 2013 National Team Xiangqi (Chinese chess) Championships, to take place in Can Tho city from October 4-14, with the participation of 152 players.

The players, representing 17 teams from across the country, will battle it out in a Swiss system tournament to decide the top scorer and the winning team. The combined scores of each team’s best three players will determine the top teams.

Several well-known players are registered for the competition, such as Nguyen Hoang Yen, Ho Thi Thu Hong, Dam Thi Thuy Dung, Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh, Lai Ly Huynh, Nguyen Tran Do Ninh and Uong Duong Bac.

The nine-day event provides a good opportunity for Vietnam’s leading xiangqi players to hone their skills and earn spots on the national team at international xiangqi competitions.

Vietnam aim to qualify for 2014 AFC U-19 Championship

The 23-man National U-19 football team, led by coach Graechen Guillume, leaves for Malaysia tomorrow morning to compete at the 2014 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19 Championship qualification.

The French coach continues to place his trust in the impressive squad that took second at the 2013 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U-19 Youth Championship last week.

The team welcomes back Trum Tinh and captain Xuan Truong, who are returning from injuries sustained during the AFF championship. The coaching staff also called up three additional players, including Ksor Uc, Duy Manh and Tuyen Quang, to strengthen the team’s forces. The players had their last final training session in Pleiku yesterday, before travelling to Ho Chi Minh City to prepare for tomorrow’s departure.

39 teams are competing in the qualifying round for 16 slots at the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship in Myanmar. The teams are divided into nine groups, competing in a round-robin format. The nine group winners and the six runners-up with the best records will join the hosting Myanmar squad at the finals.

The Group F competition takes place in Malaysia from October 3-7, with the participation of U-19 Vietnam, U-19 Australia, U-19 Taiwan (China) and U-19 Hong Kong (China). Vietnam will play its opener against Taiwan (China) at Kuala Lumpur Stadium on October 3 at 8pm (local time). They face Hong Kong (China) on October 5 and Australia two days later.

Vietnam’s promising start at pre-SEA Games futsal tourney

Vietnamese girls defeated their hosts Myanmar 4-3 in the opening match of the pre-SEA Games futsal tournament on September 29.

The event running from September 28 to October 3 has attracted four teams, namely Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and hosts Myanmar.

It aims to provide more experience for futsal players before competing in the 27th SEA Games to be held in Myanmar from December 8-20.

After the tourney, Vietnamese players will return to Ho Chi Minh City on October 4 for training before departing for an intensive training course in Japan on November 15.

Yamaha Cup for ASEAN children to begin in Hanoi

The Yamaha ASEAN under-13 Football Cup will kick off on October 4 at the Hanoi’s My Dinh National Stadium.

This year’s tournament, co-organised by Yamaha Motor Vietnam and the Vietnam Football Federation, has lured six teams from four countries including Thailand, Malaysia, two from Indonesia and two host teams. The two representatives of Vietnam are from Song Lam Nghe An, the defending champions of the national championships, and Viettel.

It is the sixth time in a row the Cup has been organised and the second time Vietnam has been host.

In its debut in 2008 in the central city of Danang, the host team defeated Malaysia 4-0 to take the title.

Last year, Thailand won the triumph Cup in Malaysia.

VPF says list of teams to play in V-league remains uncertain

Chairman of Vietnam Professional Football Company (VPF), Vo Quoc Thang, said that he himself does not know how many football clubs will play in the next V-League.

Speaking with a DTiNews reporter, after recent rumours that some teams will not join the V-League 2014, Thang said the deadline for event participation registration is October 30 and the teams will draw lots on November 1.

“All we know is that many Vietnamese football clubs are facing financial difficulties, therefore, it's impossible to say how many of them will compete in V-League 2014,” said the VPF chairman.

"It's not important to VPF, the V-League organiser, how many teams will  take part in the event, but we will ask those who register to conform to stricter standards,” according to the VPF chairman. There will be financial requirements for them, which means they have to pledge they can afford to participate in professional football.

K.Kien Giang Club is at  high risk of leaving the next V-League as they are unable to pay players’ salaries.

Regarding this team, Thang, who is Chairman of Kienlongbank, said the bank has transferred  VND20 billion (USD952,380) in sponsorship fees to the club under a signed contract for the 2013 season. He also explained that the team had expected to receive a total sponsorship of VND35 billion from donors for V-League 2013, but finally, only Kienlongbank sent them the VND20 billion. This has caused their financial difficulties.

V.Ninh Bình club is also facing financial problems. For instance the management board has failed to offer the whole team a VND3 billion (USD142.8) bonus after winning the national cup. Besides, the board still owes many players their salaries.

According to Thang, from 2014, football clubs will not be allowed to change their names. Investors are only allowed to buy a stake in a football club but not its name.

Thang also noted that V-League organisers will tighten speech regulations. Article 37 of the professional football regulations stipulates this, but it is not strictly supervised. Violators of the regulations will face harsher punishment to avoid repetition of the recent situation when the head of V-League was punished for his careless speech.

Thang added that VPF will hold its shareholders' meeting in October and donors have pledged to contribute a total VND76 billion (USD3.6 million) for V-League 2014 out of the required VND121 billion (USD5.76 million).

At the recent meeting to review V-League 2013, only some clubs sent their representatives to attend despite the fact that the organising board had already sent them invitations.