Chess players prominent at Asian youth champs; Vietnamese track, field athletes train abroad; Vietnamese Student Football Championships in Canada; Vietnam to host regional golf tournament; Women eliminated from U19 Asia football tourney

Viet Nam’s chess players moved to the fore at the Asian youth champs in New Delhi include Hoang Thi Nhu Y, who led the U-16 girls’ rankings with three wins and three losses.

Among the U-10 girls, Pham Thanh Phuong led with five points after six matches but her position was being challenged by a Kazak. Team-mate Nguyen Thanh Thuy Tien was in the top three with four points while Viet Nam’s entries were prominent in several other categories.

Vietnamese track, field athletes train abroad

The national track and field team is training in Kunming, China, until September 9.

Coach Ho Thi Tu Tam is helping Truong Thanh Hang, Do Thi Thao, Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Mai Van Tan, Tran Van Thang and Nguyen Van Ly prepare for the third Asian Indoor Games in Viet Nam and the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos this year.

A karatedo team will train in Tokyo from August 14 to November 17.

Vietnamese Student Football Championships in Canada

The third Vietnamese Student Football Championships took place at Matt Anthony Stadium in Ottawa, Canada on August 8-9.

Taking part in the tournament were five Vietnamese teams from the universities of Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec and one from Indonesia.

Montreal 2 won the cup after a penalty shoot-out in the final against Ottawa 2. The second runner up was Montreal 1.

Nguyen Hoanh Nam, Minister Counselor to the Embassy of Vietnam in Canada, attended and presented the cup to the winners.

The championships provided an excellent chance for Vietnamese students to exchange and share their experience in sport competition.

Vietnam to host regional golf tournament

The qualifying round of the 2009 Faldo Series Asia is taking place at the Ocean Dunes golf course in Phan Thiet City of central Binh Thuan province, on August 8-9.

The championships, founded by golfer Nick Faldo, who won six champion titles at senior UK golf tournaments, has been designed for Asian amateur golfers aged between 12 and 21.

The Faldo Series Asia 2009-2010 competition will include 15 tournaments in 12 different countries. A representative from the Vietnamese Golf Association says that this is the second time Vietnam has hosted the tournament, where 41 local golfers are competing over four legs to qualify for the finals in China later this year. The first time the country hosted the event was 2008.

Besides seeking the best golfers for the finals, Vietnam will hold a tournament for mixed teams, creating an opportunity for local golfers to get more experience.

Started in 1994, Ocean Dunes has been selected by prestigious US magazine Golf Digest as one of the two best golf courses in Vietnam.

Women eliminated from U19 Asia football tourney

Viet Nam are out of the U-19 Asian Women’s Football Championship.

During qualifying, they lost to defending champions North Korea and South Korea but downed Thailand, 2-1, in their other group match.

The Koreans teams, China and Japan will contest the semi- finals. To reach that stage was going to be difficult for Viet Nam, said chief coach Tran Ngoc Thai Tuan but the tournament was an opportunity to gain experience.

PV