The men’s cycling team left Vietnam on April 2 to participate in the Thailand Tour from April 4-9.

Tennis:

In the Davis Cup Tennis Tournament 2009, Region 4, Vietnam is in group A, with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iraq and Yemen. The remaining countries include host Bangladesh, Myanmar, Jordan, Turkmenistan and Qatar. Teams will play in a round robin format. The top team from each group will enter the Region 3 of Davis Cup 2010.

Cycling: The men’s cycling team left Vietnam on April 2 to participate in the Thailand Tour from April 4-9. The team comprises five cyclists: Mai Cong Hieu, Do Tuan Anh, Nguyen Van Tai from Domesco Dong Thap club, Bui Minh Thuy from Vinh Long province and Mai Nguyen Hung from Saigon Pesticide. Their coach is Russian expert Kurkov.

Wushu: In the first two days of competition, Hanoi wushu artists won nine gold, two silver and three bronze medals at the 2009 National Wushu Championships in HCM City. Hanoi temporarily is in the lead in the Taolu (performance) event.

The winners of the first gold medals for Hanoi are members of the national wushu team, and individuals who have won world, continental and regional gold medals, namely Thuy Linh, Quoc Khanh, Tra My, Hoang Phuong Giang and Nguyen Thanh Tung.

Chairwoman of the Hanoi Wushu Club and the chief coach of the National Wushu Team, Nguyen Phuong Lan, said Hanoi is aiming for 2-3 more gold medals.

The HCM City team ranked second with five gold medals for Taolu.

The tournament will close on April 5.

Badminton: Vietnam’s top male player Nguyen Tien Minh signed a one-year sponsorship contract with Becamex Binh Duong Company, which took effect on April 1 2009. Accordingly, Tien Minh will receive VND20 million per month. However, he will have to be in the top 25 players of the world (his current ranking is 21^st) and have to wear the sponsor’s logo on his jersey during competition.

Football: The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) suspended assistant coach of Dong Tam Long An Club, Huynh Van Hai, from two matches after the coach breached VFF’s rules in the match between his team and SHB Da Nang on March 29.

Football: The national women’s squad has maintained its 30th position in the International Football Association (FIFA) rankings for the first quarter of this year, the Vietnam Football Association reported.

The team is set to enter the final match of the 25^th SEA Games in Laos in December this year and to pass the qualifying round of the 2010 Asian Championship, according to Chinese coach Chen Yun Fat.

Vietnam’s women’s football team is now placed sixth in Asia and first in Southeast Asia.

Chess: Players from 10 countries in Zone 3.3 will compete in a tournament to be held in Ho Chi Minh City from July 20-27.

The best female and male players will take part in the World Chess Championships in Codino, Italy, this October.

The last Zone 3.3 Chess tournaments, held in 2007, saw Grand Master Le Quang Liem and Woman Grand Master Le Thanh Tu both qualify for the World Championship.

PV