VietNamNet Bridge – Twelve Vietnamese martial artists will take part in the Asian Vovinam Championships at Kish Island, Iran, starting today.

They will compete against athletes from six countries including Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and the hosts until next Tuesday.

On the sidelines of the tournament, Viet Nam Olympic Committee Vice President Hoang Vinh Giang and World Vovinam Federation General Secretary Vo Danh Hai will attend the second Asia Vovinam Federation conference.

Representatives will discuss how to develop Vovinam in Asian nations and how to introduce the traditional Vietnamese martial art at big tournaments next year such as the South Asian Games in India and the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in South Korea.

Since the establishment four years ago, the federation – based in Tehran – has expanded the Vovinam movement to countries including Lebanon, Pakistan and Nepal.

* Military team wins cycling gold

Tran Van Quyen and his partner Tran Duy Thai of Military beat off stiff competition to take the gold medal in the men's 500m doubles event at the National Cycling Championships in Binh Duong Province yesterday.

The silver and bronze medals went to Do Tuan Anh and Nguyen Truong Tai of Dong Thap, and Le Ngoc Thanh and Truong Nguyen Thanh Nhan of HCM City.

In the men's 4km team time trial, Thanh and Nhan, along with Mai Nguyen Hung and Le Van Duan, won gold for HCM City, with Vinh Long and An Giang in second and third.

Nguyen Thi That and Phan Thi Lieu of An Giang sprinted to finish first in the women's 500m double event, followed by two pairs from Binh Duong.

The hosts also pocketed a gold medal in the women's 3km team time trial ahead of An Giang and Dong Thap.
Binh Duong retained their lead in the team rankings, followed by An Giang and HCM City.

Today, cyclists will compete in the final categories: the men's 160km and women's 80km events.

VietNamNet/VNS