VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam is taking some of their best athletes to the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia this August, but it is little known that many have some interesting tales to tell. At the Kuala Lumpur event, the men’s basketball team will be captained by 37-year-old Nguyen Manh Hung, who is a five-time SEA Games champion in taekwondo. Hung, who stands 1.80m tall, was trained to be a volleyball player at the age of 14 in Thanh Hoa Province. However, he shifted to practise taekwondo when the volleyball team disbanded because of a budget crunch three months later. He is well-known as the best athlete in the region in the above 80kg category. Hung found it hard to challenge a worthy rival who could beat him, leading to his triumph at the SEA Games five times in a row from 1999 to 2007. After retirement, Hung worked as a coach and became the head of Thanh Hoa’s Taekwondo Department. “When I was an athlete, coaches asked me to play basketball as a kind … [Read more...] about VN’s SEA Games team have tales to tell
Sea games 2015 badminton
U23 men’s football squad target gold at SEA Games 27
VietNamNet – Pocketing the gold medal is the target that the General Department of Sports and Physical Training has set for the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and the U23 men’s football squad at the upcoming SEA Games 27. In a recent meeting between related parties, vice head of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training cum VFF vice chairman, Mr Pham Van Tuan, looking at the current development of Vietnam football in comparison with other national squads in the region, and said that he himself and millions of enthusiastic fans are hoping to see the moment when the U23 men’s football squad triumphs at the biggest regional sport event. “Of course, by looking at the training schedule, competing time-tables, and player performances, fans are likely to forecast and bid the final achievements of the team. Any lower targets would not satisfy the fans. That is an invisible stress for our players,” he said. The squad has not yet gotten an … [Read more...] about U23 men’s football squad target gold at SEA Games 27
Vietnam loses “gold mines” at 28th SEA Games
VietNamNet Bridge - At the meeting of the Southeast Asia Sports Council held in Singapore on Monday, Singapore, the host country of the 28th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), announced 36 sports events with 402 sets of medals. Of the 36 sports, 24 belong to the Olympic system and 34 belong to the 2014 Asian Games. They are as follows: water sports (swimming, diving, water polo), archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, billiards & snooker, bowling, canoeing, cycling, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, hockey, judo, handball, Pencak Silat, rugby, sailing, Sepak Takraw, shooting, softball, squash, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, traditional boat race, triathlon, water skating and wushu, boxing, horse racing, floor ball, Petanque, rowing and volleyball. Notably, the host country cut down the sets of medals for wushu from 23 to 20 and rejected the women’s Taolu category from the competition. Wushu is considered Vietnam’s gold mine and this will surely affect … [Read more...] about Vietnam loses “gold mines” at 28th SEA Games
SEA Games 2015: Waiting for kick-off
The 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games will officially kick off in Singapore on June 5. All necessary preparations have been completed thus far, promising to bring participating athletes and officials an exciting and successful SEA Games. This will be the first time in 22 years Singapore has been given the honour to host the region’s largest sporting event. Contrary to the practices of previous SEA Games editions, which were organised in early December (winter), the 28th SEA Games will take place from June 5 to 16 (summer). According to Lim Teck Yin, Chairman of the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee, the time adjustment aims to prevent the 28th SEA Games from coinciding with other important events such as Singapore’s National Day and the F1 Singapore Grand Prix. Singapore slammed 50 gold medals when it last hosted the Games in 1993 – a record number of golds for the island country in the SEA Games competitions. At this year’s event, the host’s sports … [Read more...] about SEA Games 2015: Waiting for kick-off
VN’s top badminton player warms up for first Olympic competition
Vu Thi Trang is hard at work preparing for her upcoming competition, getting her rackets and shuttles ready, warming up, and starting her training with a senior teammate in Brazil. Trang is living her dream, competing in the first Olympic Games of her career. She is the only female Vietnamese badminton player in Brazil and will kick off her tournament on August 12 at the Riocentro, Pavilion 4. The 24-year-old has been chasing this opportunity for many years, and her efforts have transformed her from a little girl into the national No 1 seed. As her sister was a badminton player, Trang fell in love with the sport, and she started playing at the age of seven at a club in her village in Tan Dinh Commune, Bac Giang Province. “She really loved her racket and carried it with her all the time, even during meals and at bedtime,” Trang’s mother Nguyen Thi Xuan said. The girl practised badminton every day and showed … [Read more...] about VN’s top badminton player warms up for first Olympic competition