Vietnamese sprinter seeks Games glory; International badminton tourney begins in HCM City; Vietnam to play in BIDC football Cup; Karate champ lectures in Istanbul; Bao Viet insures Vietnamese team at AIG

Huong, who broke her own record in the women’s 100m at the national Championship in HCM City last month in 11.43sec, is aiming to finish under 11.40sec in the upcoming tournaments.

In an interview in HCM City, the 23-year-old sprinter said she was not surprised with her new record because she had previously recorded a time of 11.47sec during a training session in HCM City.

Following her success in the 100m and 200m events, Huong will run in the 60m race at the AIG in Hanoi.

She was the first Vietnamese female runner to win a gold medal at the SEA Games in the100m race in the Philippines in 2005. At the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand , she brought home two more gold medals after winning the 100m and 200m events.

International badminton tourney begins in HCM City

The 2009 Yonex-Sunrise Vietnam Open kicked off at the Phan Dinh Phung Sport Complex in Ho Chi Minh City on October 7.

220 badminton players from 14 countries and territories will compete in men’s, women’s, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mix-doubles events for a total prize money of US$50,000.

The host country’s No.1 and world No.7 Nguyen Tien Minh is expected to win the men’s event in the tournament.

Vietnam to play in BIDC football Cup

Hoang Anh Gia Lai and The Vissai Ninh Binh football clubs from Vietnam will group with U23 Laos and U23 Cambodia to compete at the BIDC Cup 2009.

Four teams will play in a round-robin format. The two highest scorers will compete in the final match. The rest will play for third place.

According to BIDC General Director Nguyen Van Hien, co-organiser, the champion will pocket US$20,000, and the runner-up and third place winners will receive US$10,000 and US$5,000, respectively.

The tournament, hosted by Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia (BIDC), an affiliate of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), will take place at the Cambodian National Stadium from November 8-14.

It will also serve to celebrate Cambodia’s 56th Independence Day (November 9), and the 25th Sea Games in Laos.

Karate champ lectures in Istanbul

Nguyen Hoang Ngan will be Vietnam’s sole karate representative at the Istanbul Open in Turkey on October 10-11.

The world champion has been invited as one of three experts who will give lectures to athletes in the run-up to the tournament.

The tournament features four age groups of U17, U20, over 20 and U50 with total prize money of US$100,000.

More than 40 countries and territories have registered to take part in the competition including Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and China.

Bao Viet insures Vietnamese team at AIG

The Bao Viet Insurance Corporation has become the exclusive supplier of insurance services to the Vietnamese team at the third Asian Indoor Games held in Vietnam from October 30 to November 8.

Accordingly, each Vietnamese athlete will have an insurance package worth VND100 million during the Games. Those who win gold medals will have the period of insurance extended by one year from the end of the Games, with the total insurance value of VND150 million.

Bao Viet’s total insurance cover for the sports competition is more than VND70 billion.

The third Asian Indoor Games has 21 events and 219 sets of medals for athletes from 45 countries and territories. The Vietnamese team aims to make it to the top 8 after coming 21st in the 2005 Asian Indoor Games.

PV