Vietnam will send its young squad to compete in the first round of the International Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament in the southern city of Vung Tau from April 22-25.

General secretary Tran Duc Phan of the Vietnam Volleyball Federation (VVF) confirmed on April 20 that players Nguyen Thi Mai and Truong Thi Yen from Hai Phong and Huynh Do Hong Loan and Do Thi Hau of Khanh Hoa, who have played in the Asian Tours in Thailand and Indonesia, will compete.

The organising committee said that 11 teams had registered to participate in the first round of the tournament.

The second round which will take place at the Quang Ninh-based Tuan Chau Resort from April 29 to May 1 has 16 teams from Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand to join the host.

The tournament’s money prize is US$12,000, with the winner taking US$2,500.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Quang Ninh province has organised the beach volleyball tournament. The VVF said it hoped it would be included on the Asian Volleyball Confederation’s (AVC) roster.

“We want to organise the tournament along with tourism activities in two beach cities, Vung Tau, 120km to the east of Ho Chi Minh City, and Quang Ninh’s Ha Long Bay,” said Phan.

“These venues have experience in organising big games and we believe the tournament will soon become an annual AVC event,” Phan added.

He also said the tournament was a crucial test for the Vietnamese squad in preparation for the Southeast Asian Games in Laos this December.

According to the organising committee, AVC will send its supervisor and three referees to officiate at the event.

The second round in Quang Ninh is one of several activities lined up for this year’s Ha Long Carnival Week.

VietNamNet/ND