Long wins terrain cycling silver; Supachai to become Viet Nam citizen; Long An secure major sponsorship; Anh tops women’s tennis champs

Long took the lead for most of the men’s professional 1.3km downhill event. At the 40km mark, he made the mistake of leaving an opening for a Thailand rider to pass him and shoot to the finish line. The Vietnamese cyclist came in second with a time of 2 minutes 21.28 seconds, one second slower that the gold medallist.

Earlier, Nguyen Van Quang took a silver in the men’s amateur 1.3km downhill event.

The regional competition was held from March 14-16 and attracted teams from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Viet Nam and host Brunei.

Supachai to become Viet Nam citizen

Jitjumroon Supachai is expected to take Vietnamese citizenship, with the support of his Trang An Ninh Binh volleyball club.

The international Thai athlete has been playing for Viet Nam since 2005 and helped Ninh Binh win the 2008 National Top-Club Volleyball Championship.

Supachai, 31, said, as a Vietnamese he would be able to contribute more to his club and the national team.

Supachai is the second foreign player who has asked for Viet Nam citizenship, after a Russian female athlete, who is playing for the Vietsopetro team.

Long An secure major sponsorship

Binh Bien Long An have received VND710 million (US$40,500) from provincial enterprises to help push the team to the National Volleyball Championship this year.

It was the biggest sum ever given to a volleyball club in Viet Nam.

At their send-off last Saturday the team promised to make it into the top three.

The former champions signed a contract with Kensing Utaiwan, a young member of the Thailand national team. At 1.89m tall, Utaiwan is the tallest attacker in Southeast Asia.

Binh Dien Long An also introduced Malaysia’s Beh Shun Thing, who came to Viet Nam after finishing her contract with Popsivo Polwan, one of the strongest clubs in Malaysia.

Anh tops women’s tennis champs

Tran Lam Anh from HCM City’s Tanimex team won first place in the women’s under-18 category at the National Women’s Tennis Championships, which wrapped up in Ninh Binh Province.

Anh pocketed a bonus of VND8 million (US$470). Phan Thi Thanh Binh from Da Nang took second place with a prize of VND4 million and Le Thi Thanh Thuy from Kien Giang Province took third place, winning VND2 million.

Anh later won the women’s doubles title with Nguyen Ai Ngoc Van. Second place went to Pham Thi Dong Trinh and Nguyen Thi Tra My from Klen Giang. Huynh Phi Khanh - Si Boi Ngoc and Dao Minh Trang - Cao Di Nhu Minh from HCM City’s Tanimex team shared third prize.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News