Nguyen Manh Quyen wins gold medal at Asian Wushu Champs

VietNamNet Bridge – Practitioner Nguyen Manh Quyen won the first gold medal for Vietnam at the Asian Wushu Championships in HCM City, on August 23.

After taking two silver and one bronze medal in the first two days, Vietnam had its first gold medal in the third day of competition.

Quyen won a gold medal for the men’s Nangun (Southern cudgel) performance. He scored 9.72 points compared to 9.68 points of the silver medal winner, Cho Seung Jae of South Korea.

This is Quyen’s second medal at the tournament. He won a bronze medal for the men’s Changquan (Long Fist) in the opening day.

He has opportunity to take the third medal because he will compete in the group event.

In the third day, August 23, Vietnam’s Duong Thuy Vi (women’s nandao – sword) and Hoang Thi Phuong Giang (women’s dao – knife) won silver medals. China won gold medals in these events.

Malaysia and Iran took gold medals for women’s dao and men’s nanquan (southern fist).

So far, Vietnam has won one gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medal for taolu events. Vietnam aims to take more medals in sanshou events.

Compiled by Nam Nguyen

Top badminton player advances at int’l tournament

Vietnam’s number-one badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh has advanced to the second round of the men’s singles at the ongoing Yonex Sunrise Vietnam Open 2012 tournament after easily beating Tuesday his Indonesian opponent Adi Pramata in the first round.

 

Nguyen Tien Minh, Vietnam's number-one badminton player, is pictured playing at London 2012 

The encounter started at 10:00 pm local time at Phan Dinh Phung Sports Hall in Ho Chi Minh City, three hours later than scheduled, but home audiences still stayed to cheer Minh in his opener.

In response to such enthusiasm, first-seeded Minh, numbered 14 in world rankings, took only 35 minutes to eliminate Pramata, world number 264, with a 2-0 win.

The Vietnamese quickly subdued his rival 21-7 in the first game before sealing the second 21-15, despite a spirited fight-back from the Indonesian.

Pramata used to be Minh’s training partner in preparation for the Vietnamese’s medal journey to the London 2012 Olympic Games, which concluded earlier this month. Minh was knocked out of the group stage at this sports event, however.

The first seed will play another Indonesian, Riyanto Subagja, who edged past Thai world number 147 Boonyakorn Thumpanichwong 2-1 (21-8, 21-15) the same day in the second round.

Yonex Sunrise Vietnam Open 2012 is a Grand-Prix-level tournament that will last until Sunday.

It includes five events: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.

The total prize money is USD50,000.

Tuoi Tre

Hoa Phat Group rejects rumor of buying tycoon Kien’s FCs

VietNamNet Bridge – According to a source from the Hoa Phat Group, this firm will not purchase two football clubs of Nguyen Duc Kien, who was arrested on August 20.

Hoa Phat Group's Vice Chair Nguyen Manh Tuan said he did not intent to
purchase Kien's two football teams.

Kien’s Hanoi FC and Young Hanoi FC may be dissolved after their boss was arrested. The public is now interested in not only the investigation result over Kien’s case but also the fate of his two FCs.

If the worst happens, many people thought that Hoa Phat Group would rescue the two FCs because the relation between Kien and Hoa Phat’s boss is very good.

Last September, Hoa Phat Group’s Vice Chair Nguyen Manh Tuan stated to stop investing in football and sold Hoa Phat Hanoi FC to Kien.

It said that Hoa Phat Group’s Chair Tran Dinh Long and Vice Chair Nguyen Manh Tuan have great passion for football so they may return by purchasing Kien’s two FCs.

However, Tuan said on August 23 that he did not think of re-investment in football and did not intent to purchase Kien’s two FCs.

The Vietnam Football Federation’s Vice Chair Le Hung Dung said that it is difficult to buy a football club in this situation, when the economic crisis has not ended while investment in football is unlucrative.

Kien’s Hanoi Football JS Company still runs normally. Its U21 team will compete at the upcoming U21 Championships.

A company official said set plans would not change but he did not know about the future. Who will replace Kien to run the company is still the biggest question of the company’s employees.

Huy Phong

VFF to sign short-term contract with coach Phan Thanh Hung

VietNamNet Bridge – After the 2012 V-League closed last weekend, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has immediately prepared to sign a three-month contract with coach Phan Thanh Hung.

Coach Phan Thanh Hung.

Accordingly, Hung will train the national football squad in preparation for the Southeast Asian championships or the AFF Cup in Thailand and Malaysia later this year. He will be paid nearly VND200 million ($10,000) a month.

Hung is responsible to take the team to the semi-final round.

After AFF Cup, Hung will return to his FC – Hanoi T&T to prepare for the 2013 V-League. However, based on the team’s performance at the AFF Cup, the VFF may appoint Hung as the coach of the Vietnam U23 squad, to prepare for the Southeast Asian Games 2013 in Myanmar.

VFF’s Secretary General Ngo Le Bang confirmed on August 20 that the contract would be inked very soon.

The contract had been submitted to relevant agencies, such as the General Department of Sports and Physical Training and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The two agencies approved it.

The signing ceremony is scheduled this week.

Before the AFF Cup, the Vietnamese national squad will face Indonesia and Malaysia in friendly games. The team will also take part in the HCM City International Football Cup. The tournament organizing board said that three foreign squads will compete at the event, including the national teams of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Turkmenistan and Iran U23 team.

Between friendly games, the team will have a 10-day training course in Japan.

Compiled by S. Tung

Banking tycoon’s club wins Vietnam soccer league title

SHB Da Nang, whose budget comes from Vietnamese banking tycoon Do Quang Hien’s pocket, won Vietnam’s top-flight soccer competition V-League on Sunday after beating XM The Vissai Ninh Binh 3-1 in an away game of the 2012 season’s last matchday.

SHB Da Nang players celebrate their V-League championship in this August 19, 2012 picture.

Right-back Vo Hoang Quang opened the scoring with a close shot 26 minutes into the match before a brace by left-winger Huynh Quoc Anh nailed a victory for Da Nang in the 50th and 60th minutes.
Côte d'Ivoire international Moussa Sanogo headed the only goal for hosts Ninh Binh 28 minutes later.
This is the second title in the last three years of the club coached by former national squad striker Le Huynh Duc, and its third throughout Vietnam soccer history.
SHB Da Nang’s triumph can be seen as a surprise sincelocal soccer pundits believed Saigon Xuan Thanh, still one notch above it before the last matchday, would lift the trophy when they took on the 2009 champions and table leaders Hanoi T&T, another club owned by Hien, on their home soil Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City the same day.
The two drew 0-0, however, after Hanoi allegedly fought for a tie – rather than the title as they should – to make way for their ‘brothers’ Da Nang’s championship, as the hosts were considered the stronger side at the moment.
Matches between the two ‘siblings’ have raised serious doubts as to their credibility so far because they took turns to win home games in a very 'strange' way.
Hien, the mogul, always denies his role as the real owner of SHB Da Nang even though SHB, or the Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank where he is the board chairman, has fully sponsored it since the 2007-08 season.
At the table bottom, TDCS Dong Thap which has provided generations of players for national soccer teams will play in the First Division in the next season although they staged a remarkable comeback to edge past Lam Son Thanh Hoa 3-2 at home today.
Moneybags Vicem Hai Phong had booked the other ticket to the lower league long before hosts CLBBD Hanoi (Hanoi Soccer Club) routed them 5-0 at Hang Day Stadium in the capital a few hours ago.
Dong Tam Long An, former V-League champions, and CLB Hanoi (Hanoi Club), Hien’s third team, have been promoted to the top-flight league after they finished first and second, respectively, in the 2012 First Division.
A typical V-League season starts in January and ends in August. Each of its 14 clubs plays a total of 26 games, both home and away, to find the champions and relegate the two lowest placed teams.
The Vietnam Football Federation managed the organization of the tournament from last year backward before the Vietnam Professional Football, a company controlled by several rich club owners, stepped in this year in a bid to quell violence, game fixing, and problematic refereeing reportedly going rampant by then.
But not much has been improved for the last one year.

Tuoi Tre

Duan rides to third stage of cycling tour

Finishing line: Le Van Duan of Eximbank HCM City 1 claims the third stage of the Mekong Delta Cycling Tournament yesterday.

HCM City — Le Van Duan of Eximbank HCM City 1 won the third stage of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Cycling Tournament yesterday, while his teammate Dinh Quoc Viet retained the yellow jersey.

The 137km stage from Cao Lanh City to Soc Trang City saw great efforts by cyclists from Eximbank HCM City to maintain their position in the individual and team rankings. After the first 15km, eight cyclists broke away from the pack, and opened up a lead of two minutes.

With 40km to go, cyclists from Eximbank HCM City reeled in the leading group, and they headed for the finish together where Duan crossed the line first in a time of 3:25.06. Nguyen Van Tai  of Domesco Pharmacy Dong Thap 1 and Nguyen Thanh Tam of An Giang Plant Protection 1 came in second and third.

Finishing the stage in the leading group, Viet retained the yellow jersey with an overall time of 8:01.12, followed by Trinh Phat Dat of An Giang Plant Protection. Tai's second place finish was enough to push him up to third in the overall standings.

The team competition remained unchanged, with Eximbank HCM City 2 in first place, followed by the two teams from Domesco Pharmacy Dong Thap.

Cyclists will compete on the 120km fourth stage from Soc Trang City to Ca Mau City today. — VNS

China, Koreas are big winners in London

China proved they've arrived as a genuine Olympic super-power, and both Koreas impressed -- but Japan were top of the flops among Asian countries at the London Games.

China's Sun Yang poses on the podium with the gold medal after winning the men's 1500m freestyle final at the London Olympics on August 4.

China may not have repeated their feats of Beijing 2008, when they topped the medals table for the first time, but with 38 golds their presence in the top two, behind the United States, was never in doubt.

South Korea were the only other Asian team in the top 10. North Korea, finishing 20th, had their best Games in 20 years, Hong Kong celebrated cycling silver and Singapore won their first individual medal in 52 years.

India couldn't follow Beijing by claiming their second individual gold, but they finished with two silver medals and four bronze -- their highest individual total.

V-League title race hots up with three teams in the running

HCM CITY — The V-League title race is likely to take another twist tomorrow when top teams perform in the 25th and penultimate round of the Eximbank V-League 2012.

The V-League title race has become all the more exciting as a two-team race changed into a three-horse race after Ha Noi and Da Nang drew at home last weekend, allowing third-placed Sai Gon Xuan Thanh to reduce the gap.

The three top teams are separated by only one point, and all of them have equal chances to take the title.

Ha Noi T&T, leading the table with 46 points, will take on Hoang Anh Gia Lai on the latter's home turf, Hang Day Stadium.

Despite being rated higher, the 2010 V-League champions will have to battle to beat the visitors.

Da Nang, second with 45 points, also enjoy a home advantage, taking on relegation-threatened Dong Thap at Chi Lang Stadium.

Vietnamese competitors take part in Mind Sports festival

HA NOI – Five Vietnamese xiangqi (Chinese chess) players are competing with rivals from 143 countries around the world at the second World Mind Sports Games in France.

The Vietnamese competitors include Asian defending champion Nguyen Hoang Lam, Trenh A Sang, Dao Quoc Hung and Cao Phuong Thanh from HCM City and Nguyen Thanh Bao from Ha Noi.

Hung, on four points, is in the second group of the men's individual category, standing behind Xie Jing and Zhang Qiang of China, both with 4.5 points each. Bao is in the third group with three points.

On the women's side, Viet Nam's only female representative is Thanh, who is in fourth position.

Head coach Hoang Dinh Hong said the team has set a target of winning at least one gold medal at the tournament, which will wrap up on August 23.

The five mind sports featured at the Games are bridge, chess, draughts (checkers), go (weiqi) and xiangqi.