VN go to Asian Chess Champs; Doping centre to open in 2010; After 3 losses, VN wins a game; T&T take Ha Noi Open

Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son.

Viet Nam’s four-member squad includes Grand Masters Dao Thien Hai, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Nguyen Anh Dung and Nguyen Van Huy will battle opponents from 20 different teams, said the Viet Nam Chess Federation.

The tournament winner will take home US$20,000, while the runner-up and third place pocket $12,000 and $8,000, respectively.

The event will finish next Wednesday.

Doping centre to open in 2010

A new doping test centre, to be located at the Viet Nam Sports Hospital, is expected to be fully-operational by 2010, a source from the Sport Science Institute said.

The centre will not be completed in time for the 3rd Asian Indoor Games in Viet Nam next November, so all urine samples for the games will be sent to a laboratory abroad.

After 3 losses, VN wins a game

The Air Force and Air Defence basketball team beat Myanmar 104-50 in the ASEAN-China Basketball tournament in Nanning, China on Tuesday.

It’s the only win for the team at the tournament after three losses to the Philippines, Singapore and Brunei.

The team, representing the country at the event, played poorly because of the general lack of developed talent for the sport here.

Basketball has not yet developed as a professional sport like football or volleyball has in Viet Nam; only HCM City, Soc Trang and Anti-Aircraft Air Force have main training centres for national squad players.

The sport was dropped from the 23rd SEA Games roster in the Philippines in 2005.

T&T take Ha Noi Open

T&T took the Ha Noi Football Open after a 1-0 win over SHB Da Nang in their last match of the round robin at Hang Day Stadium on Monday.

The win helped the Ha Noi-based team rank first with two wins and three draws, one point ahead of V-League two-time champions Dong Tam Long An, who placed second.

SHB Da Nang placed third with seven points.

The tournament is a warm up for Premier League teams kick-off next month.

T&T Ha Noi promoted to V-League in August after taking second place in the First Division.

The team is coached by former national team left winger Trieu Quang Ha.

(Source: Viet Nam News)