Viet Nam honoured before AFF Cup

HA NOI – Viet Nam football team received the Labour Order, Third Class from the State for their ASEAN Football Championship, AFF-Suzuki Cup, two years ago.

Portuguese Henrique Calisto and six players, Le Cong Vinh, Duong Hong Son, Phan Van Tai Em, Vu Nhu Thanh, Nguyen Minh Phuong and Le Tan Tai were awarded the honour orders in a ceremony in Ha Noi.

Eighteen players and coach assistants were also honoured the certificates of merit from the Government.

The honour award will encourage the team before the ASEAN Football Championship playing Myanmar in the opening match in group B at Ha Noi's My Dinh Stadium on Thursday.

Two years ago, Viet Nam won the AFF-Suzuki Cup, which was co-hosted by Thailand and Singapore, after a 3-2 win in a two-legged final against Thailand.

Viet Nam will play with Myanmar, the Philippines and Singapore in a round-robin in group B on December 2-8. Two tops will qualify for semi-final.

Last week, the AFF council decided to change the venue for the competition's second pitch from Ha Noi's Hang Day Stadium to Nam Dinh's Thien Truong Stadium.

Indonesia hosts group A, which includes Thailand, Malaysia and Laos on December 1-8.

Viet Nam and Indonesia will co-host the regional football championship on December 1-29.

Since 2002 the AFF Cup has been hosted by two countries, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals and final, which is played in a home-and-away format. – VNS

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Gold medal karateist awarded cash

Karateist Le Bich Phuong was awarded a cash prize of VND100 million (US$5,000) by sponsor Audio Vision Group (AVG) after winning Viet Nam's first gold at the Asian Games on Thursday.

The national sports administration will also present the 18-year-old athlete with VND75 million ($3,600).

Earlier, the sponsor announced it would present prize money of VND30 million ($1,500) to any Vietnamese athlete winning a gold medal at the Games, but only Phuong has succeeded after 13 days of competition.

AVG also presented national karate team coach Le Cong with $1,500 on Thursday.

U-16s to battle Iran at AFC tourney

Viet Nam's U-16 women's football team meet Iran in the opening match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Championship qualifiers at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium next Thursday.

The team, who have been training in the mountainous town of Tam Dao, 65km west of Ha Noi, will play in group A against Thailand, Myanmar, Chinese Taipei and Iran between December 2-12.

The top two teams will qualify for the final.

AFF Cup tickets discounted

Tickets for group B matches at the ASEAN Football Federation, AFF-Suzuki Cup will go on sale at Ha Noi's My Dinh and Hang Day stadiums today.

The organising committee has reduced ticket prices from VND180,000-VND80,000 to VND150,000-VND50,000 to lure more fans.

Viet Nam will play Myanmar, Singapore and the Philippines in group B at My Dinh Stadium from December 2-8.

Last week, the AFF decided to change the venue for the competition's second pitch from Ha Noi's Hang Day Stadium to Nam Dinh's Thien Truong Stadium.

Matches between Viet Nam and Singapore and Myanmar and the Philippines on December 8 will take place concurrently at the two stadiums.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.aleale.com.vn.

In the final match between Viet Nam and Thailand two years ago, Vietnamese fans had to fork out up to VND3 million (US$150) to touts for tickets – a significant increase on the face value of VND80,000 ($4). — VNS

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US Tennis defends roofless courts after Open washout

The Arthur Ashe Stadium

The US Tennis Association defended their decision to carry on staging the US Open without the benefit of a covered court even as rain on Sunday postponed the men’s final for the third year in a row.

The rain forced world number one Rafa Nadal, seeking to become the seventh man to complete a career grand slam, and Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic to wait until Monday to contest the last grand slam final of the year.

Both the Australian Open and Wimbledon championships have retractable roofs to deal with dodgy weather and French Open officials have discussed the possibility.

“It’s technically complex and financially challenging,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told Reuters. “At a cost of more than US$150 million, do you spend that on a roof or continue to fund grassroots tennis programs in this country?”

Widmaier said $100 million had been spent on improvements at the Flushing Meadows complex in the last five years, with the biggest expense being a new indoor training center.

He also said money from the US Open was funneled into player development, grants and scholarships and to improving tennis facilities around the country, which included providing help to resurface 1,100 courts across the United States.

Widmaier said USTA president Lucy Garvin is heading a committee that will make recommendations to the tennis association on future improvements to the National Tennis Center complex and some options being looked at included covering smaller courts at less expense.

The tournament’s second court, Louis Armstrong Stadium, seats 10,500 compared to 23,771 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Four-time US Open winner John Mcenroe, now a TV commentator at the championships, said last year he had lobbied USTA officials from the start to put a roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium when it was built to replace Louis Armstrong Stadium in 1997 as the tournament’s main stage.

“It seemed like a no-brainer but people at the USTA decided they wanted to build the biggest (stadium),” McEnroe said about the Ashe center court. “But at the same price they could’ve had a slightly smaller stadium and had a roof.”

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Hanoi T&T a draw away from V-League title

Hanoi T&T 's 1-1 away draw with Ninh Binh in the 24^th round on Sunday meant they lost their chance to win the top-tier V-League championship two rounds early.

However, the capital representatives are now just a draw away from the title with 45 points, six points clear of second-placed Hai Phong Cement, who suffered a 0-1 away defeat to Dong Thap at the Cao Lanh Stadium.

Hanoi T&T were calm and confident throughout the match, but it was the hosts Ninh Binh who took the lead after striker Viet Thang found the net 15 minutes into the match. Caue Benicio evened the score just five minutes later.

Ninh Binh fought hard but Hanoi T&T held on for a draw, and need just another tie in the remaining two games of the season to claim the championship this season.

The home draw with big rivals from the capital could only lift Ninh Binh one spot up to 10^th with 33 points.

Meanwhile, Hai Phong Cement needed a win to remain in the race for the title but Dong Thap players were a highly motivated lot after a VND200 million prize for a victory was upped to VND500 million (US$16,200).

The defeat destroyed the port city team's hopes of winning the championship, while Dong Thap moved up one place to fourth with 38 points and could finish the season in the top three.

In other V-League action, reigning champs Da Nang were nailed to ninth spot with 34 points after a disappointing two-all home tie at Chi Lang Stadium against 2007-08 champs Binh Duong, who fell three places to sixth with 37 points.

Bottom teams Nam Dinh’s 1-3 loss to Thanh Hoa at Thien Truong Stadium and Navibank Saigon’s 0-2 defeat to Khanh Hoa at Thong Nhat Stadium came as no surprise because they did not have any goals except pride to fight for.

Thanh Hoa are still third from bottom despite the win while Khanh Hoa climbed one position to third with 39 points.

Their 1-0 away win over Hoa Phat Hanoi at Hang Day Stadium lifted  2001 champions Nghe An one place to seventh with 36 points.

Meanwhile, 2003-04 champions Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) suffered a disappointing 0-2 home defeat at Pleiku Stadium to the 2005-06 champs Dong Tam Long An (DTLA).

DTLA jumped two positions to fifth with 37 points while HAGL slid one spot to 11^th with 33 points.

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