National children’s football tournament opens; Vietnamese athletes to attend training sessions abroad; Vietnamese martial artists clinch two more medals at Asian Games; HCM hosts U19 South East Asian Football Champs; 2009 Youth Tennis Prudence Cup underway;

In the opening day, in Group A, hosts Hai Duong trounced Hanoi 7-2 while Vinh Phuc defeated Ha Giang 2-0. In Group B, Khanh Hoa beat Da Nang 3-2 and Bac Lieu crushed Thanh Hoa 3-0.

The tournament sees the participation of 16 teams namely Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Bac Giang, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Gia Lai, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Vinh Phuc, Hanoi, Quang Binh, Ninh Thuan, Dak Lak and hosts Hai Duong.

The teams are divided into four groups, competing on a round robin basis. Two top teams in each group will qualify for the semi-finals.

The tournament lies in the system of national tournaments, co-organised by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Vietnam Football Federation, the Nhi Dong (Children) newspaper and the Vietnam Young Talent Support Fund.

Vietnamese athletes to attend training sessions abroad

The Vietnam National Track and Field team and the Karatedo team will join training sessions in Kunming, China from August 3 to September 9 and in Tokyo, Japan from August 14 to November 17 respectively.

The track and field team attending the training session in China includes coach Ho Thi Tu Tam together with five athletes namely Truong Thanh Hang, Do Thi Thao, Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Mai Van Tan, Tran Van Thang and Nguyen Van Ly.

It is expected that these training sessions will help Vietnamese athletes well-prepare for the third Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam and the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos this year.

Vietnamese martial artists clinch two more medals at Asian Games

Vietnam has won one silver and one bronze more at the on-going Asian Martial Arts Games in Thailand.

Tran Thi Ngoc Truc brought home a silver in Taekwondo, 51 kg category while Tran Thi Ngoc Le grabbed a bronze in Muay, 47 kg category. The first day of competition, Vietnam grabbed one silver and two bronzes in Judo, Muay and Teakwondo.

After two days of competition, Vietnam currently ranks ninth with two silvers and three bronzes.

Vietnam will also at least bag two silvers today with two martial artists attending finals in Muay.

HCM hosts U19 South East Asian Football Champs

The U19 South East Asia Football Championships will be held in Ho Chi Minh City from August 4-12.
The event will draw 8 teams from Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Cambodia, East Timor, Vietnam and Australia.

Vietnam will play Myanmar, Malaysia and East Timor in Group B.

The qualifying round in the semifinals and the final will take place in Thong Nhat stadium on August 12.

2009 Youth Tennis Prudence Cup underway

The 2009 Youth Tennis Prudence Cup has been held in the Underwater Sports Centre in central Thua Thien-Hue city province from August 2-5.

The event was supported by the Prudence Fund, an arm of the global Prudential Corporation.

The tournament attracted over 130 athletes in the five age groups of U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18 from 19 teams nationwide, including Dak Lak, Ben Tre, Tay Ninh, Lam Dong, Dong Nai, VinPearl Khanh Hoa, Becamex Binh Duong, Thua Thien Hue and Military Zone 7.

The organising board will award medals for first, second, third and fourth in the singles and mixed doubles.

PV