Top players to compete in Ha Noi; Vinh scores historic European goal; Chess star Thang to train abroad; Badminton star to get new coach

The best 24 athletes will take part in round-robin format competition for men and women.

According to Nguyen Duc Long, head of the Table Tennis Department of the National Sports Administration, the tournament will be a final qualification test for who will be Vietnamese representatives at the Southeast Asian Games later this year.

The finals are scheduled on Thursday with a bonus of VND10 million (US$540) for the champions.

Vinh scores historic European goal

Le Cong Vinh made Vietnamese and Southeast Asian football history by scoring in a European football league on Sunday.

Vinh who is on loan to Leixoes scored in their 2-1 victory over Casa Pia in the Portuguese National Cup.

The Vietnamese striker opened the scoring on the 43rd minute before being substituted.

It was the second time that Vinh appeared for Leixoes. He made his debut in the Portuguese premier league two weeks ago.

Chess star Thang to train abroad

World champion Nguyen Minh Thang will enjoy a long-term chess training course in Hungary which will start at the end of this month.

Thang who won the world U8 crown last November and his older brother Nguyen Minh Tuan will be supported by Ha Noi’s Sport Department.

During their time, the two will be given chances to take part in various tournaments where they will attempt to improve their skills by competing against local and European rivals.

Thang will defend his world title at the World Age Groups Chess Championship to be held in Turkey on November 11-23.

Badminton star to get new coach

Viet Nam’s top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh, ranked seventh in the world, is set to obtain the services of an international coach early next year.

Indonesian badminton expert Asep Shuharno has been invited to coach Minh and the city’s badminton squad, the HCM City municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced.

A department official said Shuharno had been invited while he was in HCM City with the Singaporean squad competing at the Yonex Sunrise Vietnam Open Grand Prix earlier this month.

Shuharno has coached big names in world badminton such as Taufik Hydayat, Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Simon Santoso, currently ranked fifth, ninth and 14th in the world. He began coaching the Singaporean team in 2006.

Minh, who successfully won three international tournaments, met Shuharno for the first time in 2007 when he was coaching Singaporean players at international competitions. He has since visited Singapore several times from 2008 for training.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News