Volleyball Grand Prix 2010 kicks off in Phu Tho; WGM Tu invited to Chinese Chess tourney; Vovinam artists to compete in France; Vietnam to play in German’s shuttle cock tourney

The Vietnam Volleyball Grand Prix 2010 will be held at Viet Tri Gymnasium in the northern province of Phu Tho from April 22-30.

The tournament attracts as many as 16 top male and female teams at the 2009 National Championships including Sacombank Border Defence, Trang An Ninh Binh, Hoang Long Long An, The Cong, Sanest Khanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City, Duc Long Military Zone 5, Military Zone 9.

The women’s team comprises Binh Dien Long An, PV Oil Thai Binh, LienViet Bank Communication High Command, Vietsovpetro, Bai Bang Paper, Lilama Hai Duong, Viettinbank, Phu Rieng Rubber.

The tournament offers a total of nearly VND 500 million in cash prize. The winners will get VND 120 million while the runners-up and the third placed team will receive VND 80 million and VND 40 million respectively.

In each event for men and women, the teams will be divided into two groups to compete on a round robin basis. The two top teams in each group will qualify for the semi-finals.

WGM Tu invited to Chinese Chess tourney

World Grand Master Le Thanh Tu has been invited by the Chess Association of China to compete in China’s Chess Championship Grade A.

The invitation has been accepted by the Vietnam Chess Federation, and Tu is one of the first Vietnamese chess players to compete in overseas tournaments this year.

Apart from Tu, hosts China also invited Alexander Motylev from Russia to take part in the event.

The tournament, which began on April 16 and will end in late December 2010, is divided into various stages.

Vovinam artists to compete in France

An 18-member delegation of the traditional Vietnamese martial art (Vovinam) has arrived in France for a France-Vietnam international Vovinam tournament on April 24-27.

The delegation was led by Nguyen Danh Thai, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, who is also President of the International Vovinam Federation (IVF).

During the tournament, the IVF executive committee will meet with leaders of more than 30 European countries and territories to discuss ways of promoting the development of Vovinam in Europe.

Delegates will also draw up a plan to establish the European Vovinam Federation in 2011 and organise a European Vovinam Championship on this occasion.

Vietnam to play in German’s shuttle cock tourney

Vietnam, China, Hungary and Germany will compete in a shuttle cock tournament from May 6-10.

The tournament will provide Vietnam with an excellent chance to prepare for the World Championships in China in July.

Twelve Vietnamese players will gather and start training on May 1.

Trouncing Selangor 4-0, Binh Duong advance to knock-out round

Binh Duong easily trounced Malaysia’s Selangor 4-0 in their fifth match at the 2010 AFC Cup at Go Dau stadium yesterday.

Huynh Kesley scored a hattrick for the hosts in the 30th, 65th and 90th minutes. The other goal was scored by Vu Phong in the 72nd minute from a free-kick.

In another match, Indonesia’s Sriwijaya crushed Maldives’ Victory SC 5-0.

As a result, both Sriwijaya and Binh Duong earned 10 points to qualify for the next round. However, Sriwijaya top group F thanks to their better goal difference.

Thanh Hoa hosts 2010 Pencak Silat SEA champs

The 2010 Pencak Silat Southeast Asian championships will be held in the central province of Thanh Hoa from May 28 to June 4.

In 2008, Vietnam hosted the tournament for the first time at Tan Binh sports hall in Ho Chi Minh City and won the championship title with 13 golds, 5 silvers and 4 bronzes, followed by Malaysia and the Philippines.

In 2009, the Vietnamese team took 5 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medals and retained the championship title.

Vietnamese players attend World Pool Masters

Vietnam’s Luong Chi Dung and Do Hoang Quan defeated strong opponents from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to win a place in the final round of the World Pool Masters in Las Vegas from May 12-16.

The tournament has attracted 64 international top billiards players from around the world.

This is the first time Vietnam has been represented at this globally prestigious competition.

New professional football squad debuts in Hanoi

Megastar United, a new professional football club, made its first official public appearance on April 20 at a stadium in Ha Dong district, Hanoi.

The club’s players will be kitted out in mainly red and blue, with yellow as an alternate colour. The 24-player club was established by the Megastar United Football Development Co. Ltd., and is built from players who won third prize in the national U19 competition.

Plans are to participate in Vietnam’s second division football tournament, where it will compete first with the Public Security Football Squad.

The club’s president Le Van Toan said Megastar United has set as its goal to develop into a football training centre in co-ordination with foreign clubs to increase its strengths along with enriching potential human resources for Vietnamese footbal.

Women players prepare for Asian Cup

Vietnamese women will play three friendly matches before flying to Chengdu, China, on May 7 for the 2010 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

After a week-long training in Tam Dao resort, the players are scheduled to take on Omo Unilever men’s team on April 27, Hanoi Women’s team on April 29 and Hanoi U17 men’s team on May 5.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced that Vietnam will play Australia on May 19, China on May 21 and the Republic of Korea on May 23.

Vu Ba Dong – manager of Hanoi Trang An football club - has been selected by the Vietnam Footfall Federation to replace Chen Yun Fat to coach the national team. Dong said he is ready to cope with new challenges after the Chinese expert left the team.

After the training week in Tam Dao, Dong said the players, including veterans Kim Chi and Dao Thi Mien, have met 90 percent of their target, and their physical endurance has improved considerably.

Dong acknowledged that China, Australia and the Republic of Korea are Vietnam’s tough rivals.

They are much stronger than ours physically and tactically, but stronger players may not be the winners, says the chief coach.

PV