VN defeat Australia in volleyball

Viet Nam beat Australia in the third day of the 2014 VTV International Women's Volleyball Cup in the northern province of Bac Ninh yesterday. The team won 25-6, 25-14 and 25-19.

With the victory, Viet Nam ranks third after North Korea and Thailand.

On the same day, North Korea defeated Yunnan of China 4-1 and Thailand defeated Kazakhstan 3-0.

Today, Viet Nam will meet North Korea.

This year, a Vietnamese team and others from Thailand, Australia, South Korea, Kazakhstan and China's Yunnan are taking part.

The six teams are playing in a round-robin format to select four teams for the semi-finals. First prize is worth US$10,000.

On Sunday Viet Nam beat Yunnan of China in the second match.

The team won 25-15, 25-20 and 25-16.

On Saturday, the team had lost to Thailand 3-0 in the opening match.

S Korea top Group B despite 0-0 draw

South Korea finished the group stage as winners of Group B after being held to a goalless draw by China in their final match last night at Thong Nhat Stadium in HCM City.

It was open season at the beginning of the match, with both sides demonstrating a strong attacking game. But South Korea came out on top converting a higher percentage of opportunities, particularly in the dying minutes of each half.

"We created some good chances today but could not capitalise on them but the important thing is that we reached the semi-final stage and qualified for the World Cup," South Korea coach Yoon Duk Yeok said in the post-match press conference.

South Korea, who has been seeking their first Asian Women's Cup final, will face defending champions Australia in the final four on Thursday in the same venue.

"There is still room for improvement in our team ahead of the semi-final and our goal is to reach the final. All teams in the semi-finals are strong and the important thing for us is to ensure our players to go into the match in the best condition," he added.

China's coach, Hao Wei, was pleased with the draw and said his team would perform even better in the last-four match against world champions Japan in the earlier semi-final match to be held on the same day.

"We want to win every game but today we drew South Korea and it was ok, but we will be better in the games to come," Hao said. "The semi-final game will be the most important for us and there will be changes for the match," he added.

On the other side of the draw, midfielder KanjanaSung-Ngoen scored the opening goal in the first half, with captain Sritala Duangnapa adding a second in the latter half to help Thailand edge out Myanmar 2-1. Myanmar failed to convert opportunities during the match, with Yee Yee Oo nabbing the only goal for the side.

The win puts Thailand at third in the group and qualifies them for the play-off against Viet Nam tomorrow. The winner will win a ticket to the World Cup next year in Canada.

Thuc, Tinh win berth in national

Duo Pham Duy Thuc and Le Trung Tinh qualified for the final of the National Men's Tennis Championships after beating Nguyen Nhut Hoang and Minh Tri of HCM City yesterday.

Thuc/Tinh of Military easily won the first set 6–4 before struggling in the second and winning 7–5 in the U18 doubles category's first semifinal match.

In the final, they will play against Marshall David and Nguyen Van Phuong of Binh Duong who defeated Van Son and Viet Hoang from Vinh Phuc 6–2, 7–5 in the second semifinals.

In the over-18 doubles category, Nguyen Hoang Hai and Minh Hung of Binh Duong sent the stronger pair Ho Huynh Dan Mach and Tran Hoang Anh Khoa of Military home after their 6–4, 5–7, 11–13 in the quarterfinal match.

Earlier, Huynh Chi Khuong and Tran Thanh Hoang of Military beat Bui Quang Hung and Le Long Phung of Binh Duong 6–1, 6–0; Van Huu Nguyen Vu and Vo Van Toan from Da Nang beat Nguyen Dac Tien and Hoang Thanh Trung from Ha Noi 6–3, 6–4; and Nguyen Tuan Anh and Bui Thai Luan worked hard to beat Le Quoc Khanh and Pham Huu Vinh 7–6 (8), 10–6 in an all-HCM City match.

The national championships will continue today with matches in the U14, U16 and U18 events.

Hung bags first national fishing

Nguyen Son Hung of Trang An 2 won a gold medal in the first National Games Fishing Association (GFA) Championships, which wrapped up in Ha Noi on Sunday.

Hung reached the top position after winning four points from the two-round individual event, fishing a total of 19.88 kg of fish.

Pham Ba Hung of Ha Nam club and Le Van Hieu of Hai Duong 2 club ranked second and third, respectively.

In the team event, Ha Nam overcame Ha Noi-based Trang An 2 to claim the top position. The third place went to Doanh Nhan club.

In the debut tournament, organisers lured more than 100 fishermen from 20 cities and provinces.

Tam wins opening stage of tour

Ha Thanh Tam yesterday won the first stage of the Return to the Countryside cycling tournament, also known as the An Giang Plant Protection Cup.

Tam, from An Giang, clocked 43 minutes 21 seconds with an average speed of 38.316kmph during the 66km stage from Tan An City to Kien Tuong Town in Long An Province.

Tran Nguyen Duy Nhan from the Military Zone 7 and Nguyen Huu Tien from Vinh Long came second and third.

In the team race, HCM City triumphed, followed by Military Zone 7 and Vinh Long.

In the race for amateur cyclists, Nguyen Hoang Sang and Nguyen Anh Vu of Dam Ca Mau took the lead.

Today, cyclists are set to compete in the second stage from Kien Tuong Town to Thanh Binh District in Dong Thap Province.

The nine-day event, which attracted more than 100 athletes from 20 teams including Cambodia, will last until May 27.