VietNamNet Bridge – Sport is a passion for tens of millions of Vietnamese and when an international sports story breaks, they follow it with the utmost of enthusiasm. Here we, Radio the Voice of Vietnam, have recapped our top ten biggest sports stories for the year.

1. Indonesia replaces Vietnam as ASIAD 18 host

On September 19, at the request of Vietnam, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) selected Indonesia as the placement host for the next Asian Games in 2019 (ASIAD 18).

Earlier in March 2014, Vietnam withdrew its bid to host the event, citing as the reason its limited experience in organizing such a large sporting venue.

2. The seventh National Sports Festival

The Hanoi team came in first for the fourth consecutive year in a row at the seventh National Sports Festival. Swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien smashed two national records at the festival.

The festival cost more than VND2,000 billion to produce, however, the revenues generated and the benefit to the nation’s image were invaluable and by far outweighed the cost.

3.  ASIAD 17

National athletes competed in 21 events at the 17th Asian Games (ASIAD) held in the Republic of Korea (RoK) bringing home a treasure chest of medals –one gold, 10 silver and 25 bronze.

Eighteen year old swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien was simply brilliant and swam to a bronze medal in the women's 400m individual medley in record time of 4min 39.45sec.

Her win was a milestone for the country as its first ever swimming medal in ASIAD competition history.

Weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan, 20, stood tall on the winner’s podium with a silver medal in the 56kg category. He also broke the Asian record in the jerk at 134kg and lifted 294 kg in the snatch.

4. Second Asian Para Games

The Vietnam national team emerged in October with a fabulous victory at the second Asian Para Games wrapped up in Incheon, the Republic of Korea, ranking tenth in the overall medal tally.

Vietnamese athletes racked up the medals at the event bringing home a bevy of nine gold medals along with seven silver and 13 bronze.

They were also the pride of the nation, setting a world record along with four Asian records.

Swimmer Vo Thanh Tung swam his heart out winning five gold medals for the country. He topped the list in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 50m backstroke and 200m medley events.

5. Hoang Xuan Vinh ranked first in the world

In July, Vietnamese shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh earned 1201 points to clinch the top ranking of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) in the 10m air pistol event.

Vinh outscored his nearest competitor Jin Jongoh from the Republic of Korea by 300 points.

Earlier in March of the year he set a new world’s record in the 10m air pistol finals in the US at the 2014 World Cup Fort Benning 2014. This marked the first time in history a Vietnamese shooter claimed the top spot of the world.

6. Vietnam missed out on World Cup spot

In May, on the back of two unfortunate mistakes by Captain Le Thi Thuong and goalkeeper Dang Thi Kieu Trinh, the Vietnam national team lost its bid for the title at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup.

They suffered a narrow and harrowing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Thailand in the fifth-place play-off match.

In June, following the tournament loss, Vietnamese head coach Chen Yun Fat officially tendered his resignation, ending his memorable career with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

Coach Fat took the helm in 2007 and over the years made tremendous progress with the team and left many unforgettable successes, including the 2012 Southeast Asian Women Football Championship (AFF).

7. U19 Vietnam ‘a breath of fresh air’

A new pool of promising U19 players have rekind led the hope that football competition in the country will experience a resurgence in 2015 following a period riddled with problems from coaching controversies to match-fixing.

In September this fresh reboot was evident as the country’s third football generation filled My Dinh National Stadium with more than 40,000 fans to cheer the national under-19 team in their 4-1 victory over Myanmar.

The victory secured the host team a place in the final – where they will meet their formidable opponent, Japan. The win over Myanmar took many fans by surprise and renewed fan support for their new football idols.

Vietnamese fans enter the New Year confident they have a team they can trust to win fairly in regional and international competitions

8. Vietnam disqualified from AFF Cup semi-final

In December the Vietnam national football team failed to capitalise on its 2-1 victory in the first-leg match and missed out the final match after losing 2-4 to Malaysia in the second-leg game in the 2014 Southeast Asian Football Championship - AFF Suzuki Cup at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi.

The score was 5-4 on aggregate and Vietnam has yet to reach the final since its maiden victory in 2008.

At this year’stournament, Vietnam received the Fair Play Award.

9. Nine Vietnamese footballers banned from int’l competitions

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) suspended nine players of The Vissai Ninh Binh FC for alleged engagement in an AFC Cup 2014 match-fixing scandal.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) received the AFC notification on July 31 which stated the ban would last till November 20, 2014.

The nine players – Nguyen Manh Dung, Tran Manh Dung, Chu Ngoc Anh, Le Quang Hung, Nguyen Xuan Phu, Phan Anh Tuan, Nguyen Van Hung, Le Van Duyet, and Nguyen Gia Tu - have been detained pending further criminal prosecution.

10. Vietnam finished fifth at Asian Beach Games 2014

In November the nation placed fifth at Asian Beach Games 2014 in Thailand and garnered eight gold medals in addition to 12 silver and 20 bronze.

Vietnam is set to host the fifth Asian Beach Games in 2016 in Nha Trang city in Khanh Hoa province.

Source: VOV