VN vies for berths at world tourney

Beeline to victory: Southeast Asian Games gold medallist Truong Thanh Hang needs to maintain her current form in the women's 800m and 1,500m to grab a berth in the World Athletics Championship in South Korea in August. — VNA/VNS File Photo

HA NOI — Vietnamese track and fields athletes have a chance to take part in the 13th World Athletics Championship in South Korea, according to standards just released by the International Association of Athletics Federation.

A and B standards are to be applied to participants. Vietnamese seeking opportunities are: women's 100m and 200m Vu Thi Huong, 800m and 1,500m Truong Thanh Hang, men's decathlon Vu Van Huyen.

Huong has to run 100m in 11.38sec and the 200m in 23.30, and Hang must run 800m in 2:01.30 and 1500 in 4:08.90, both to meet the B standard.

Huong last December broke the national record in the National Sport Games' 200m event with similar result to the standard while her seasonal best in the 100m was 11.34 at the 25th SEA Games' 100m in Laos in 2009.

Da Nang-based Hang has the chance run in South Korea if she can maintain the times she ran at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou last November.

Hang earned two silver medals in her two events with times of 2:00.91 and 4:08.22, respectively. Both are better than the B standard.

The runners' tasks now are to maintain their results.

The Vietnamese are also likely to qualify for the London Olympics next year because the standards applied for that even are lower than that of the world competition in South Korea.

Hang and Huong will receive intensive support this year. Huong will take part in a long-term training course in Germany while Hang will train in China or Bhutan.

They will return home ahead of the Asian Athletics Championship in Kobe, Japan, on July 7-10. If they qualify they will compete in the world championship from August 27 to September 4 in Daegu City.

Meanwhile, "Iron" man Huyen has to achieve 8,000 points to reach the B standard.

Huyen surprised in Guangzhou where he won a bronze medal with 7,755 points. — VNS

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Vietnam yet to hand out cash awards to Asiad winners

Truong Thanh Hang wins silver medal at the women's 1,500m race at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2010

Until February 10, some Vietnamese athletes bagging medals at the ASIAD 16 in China in November last year have yet received any cash awards promised previously by the government.

Wrestlers and Wushu martial artists were handed rewards before Tet but track-and-field athletes like Vu Van Huyen, Truong Thanh Hang, Vu Thi Huong, and some others have received nothing by now.

“It’s the first time I have won the Asiad silver medal with a cash prize of VND25 million ($1,280). I was eager to receive it before Tet to support my family and enjoy a joyful Tet holidays but…,” an athlete, who wants to be anonymous, spoke to Tuoi Tre.

“Except my monthly salary of VND1 million, I get nothing.”

“We have set up an emergency budget worth around VND21 billion to award high-profile athletes,” said Nguyen Thi Kim Mai – deputy director of the Vietnam National Sports Committtee.

But this Asiad saw more medal winners than in the previous games, so the budget still falls short of around VND 4 million, she added.

“The rest of the athletes are expected to receive reward money from now to the end of this month,” she promised.

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Sprinters to eye on London Olympics

HA NOI – Sprinter Vu Thi Huong will enrol at a six-month training course in Germany to prepare for the World Athletics Championship in Deagu, South Korea this August.

Meanwhile, middle-distance runner Truong Thanh Hang will train in Bhutan after Tet before he heads off for additional training in Kunming, China.

The two runners have set their sights on earning a berth at the London Olympics in 2012.

Huong, 24, who won a silver medal in 200m and a bronze in the 100m at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, last year, set a national record in the 200m during the National Sport Games in Da Nang last December after she crossed the finish line at 23.30 seconds.

The record is congruent with the Olympics automatic berth criteria for the women's 200m for the London Games.

The 24-year-old has to clock a time of 11.38sec in the 100m at the World Championship if she wants to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

In 2007, Huong finished the 100m with a time of 11.33 seconds, a personal best, at the Asian Athletic Championships.

She was also the first Vietnamese female runner to win a gold medal at the SEA Games in the 100m race in the Philippines in 2005.

Three years ago, Huong competed at the Beijing Olympics but was disqualified during the quarter-final.

HCM City-born Truong Thanh Hang, who won two Asian Games silver medals in the 1,500m and 800m, needs to sustain her best time of 2:00.91 in the 800m to earn a spot at the London Games. – VNS

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Truong Thanh Hang nabs silver in women’s 1500m

Vietnam's Truong Thanh Hang celebrates her second place after the women's 1500m final at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on Tuesday - Photo: Reuters

HCMC – Vietnam’s track and field team continuously showed their remarkable performance at the 16th Asian Games (ASIAD) in Guangzhou, China as Truong Thanh Hang won a silver medal in the women’s 1500 meters category to give Vietnam its first silver medal in the event since Vietnam began participating in Asia’s biggest sporting event in Seoul, South Korea in 1986.

It was also Vietnam’s second medal of the track and field competition of the Asian Games. Earlier, Vu Thi Huong also brought home the bronze medal in the women’s 100m category on Monday.

Hang timed 4:09:58 minutes, 1.28 seconds behind of Jamah Maryam Yusuf Isa from Bahrain, who claimed the gold medal. Gebregeiorges Mimi Belete also from Bahrain won bronze in 4:10.42 minutes.

The Vietnamese team comprising Le Thi Mong Tuyen, Le Ngoc Phuong, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tham and Vu Thi Huong reached finals as they finished second in group 1 of the women’s 4x100m relay with 45.12 seconds. Thai team came first with 44.42 seconds while Indian team were third with 45.44 seconds.  

In sepaktakraw, Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, Nguyen Hai Thao and Luu Thi Thanh of Vietnam secured their second victory in the women’s regu event after beating China 22-20, 21-12 on Tuesday. The Vietnamese players had an 21-19, 23-21 victory over Myanmar on Monday.

Vietnam will face archrivals Thailand, who had two victories over China and Myanmar with the same score of 2-0, for the gold medal today. Vietnam will defend their champions for their win over Thailand at the 2006 Games in Doha, Qatar.

Nguyen van Long secured the final’s ticket in the men’s canoe single 200m category as he finished first in the semifinal round with 43.075 seconds while Nguyen Van Chi and Nguyen Thanh Quang exited from the men’s kayak double 1000m competition after finishing last in the semifinal round.     

Nguyen Thi Huong beat Tinbua Narisara from Thailand 4-2 in the women’s individual of archery event before losing 0-6 to Ki Bobae from Japan on Tuesday while her compatriot Nguyen Tra My was 1-5 defeated by Le Chien Ying from Chinese Taipei in the same event.

In cycling, rider Pham Thi Thuy Lien failed to clinch a medal when she completed the 100-kilometer stage in the women’s individual road race in two hours, 47 minutes and 47.99 seconds, ranking eighth while her compatriot Phan Thi Thuy Trang just came tenth with 2:47:48.36.

Hsiao Mei Yu from Chinese Taipei brought home the gold with 2:47:46.12, Tri Kusuma Santia from Indonesia gained the silver with 2:47:46.52 and Chinese rider Zhao Na clinched the bronze with 2:47:46.63.

Vietnam’s men volleyball players showed their poor performance at ASIAD as they were 1-3 beaten by Turkmenistan in the final game. The Vietnamese players ended their ASIAD campaign at bottom place with all seven losses.

In fencing, Vietnam team failed to reach semifinals of the women’s team epee event when they were 25-45 defeated by hosts China. Earlier, Vietnam earned a 45-38 victory over India in the last 16 round.   

Though Vietnam took one more silver medal in the eleventh competition day but it was not enough to satisfy Vietnam’s desire for their first gold medal at the Games. The Vietnamese sporting delegation aims to win between four and six gold medals and to finish in the top 20 out of the 45 participating countries and territories.

Vietnam dropped to 26th in the ranking table with 12 silvers and 12 bronzes. China still leads with 165 golds, 85 silvers and 79 bronzes, followed by South Korea with 64 golds, 55 silvers and 74 bronzes and Japan with 34 golds, 64 silvers and 68 bronzes.

Medals Standings (at 10:00 p.m. Vietnamese time)

Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	165	85	79	329
2 South Korea	64	55	74	193
3 Japan	34	64	68	166
4 Chinese Taipei	12	11	29	52
5 Iran	12	9	15	36
6 Hong Kong	8	14	14	36
7 Kazakhstan	7	14	26	47
8 India	7	12	20	39
9 Thailand	7	7	26	40
10 Malaysia	6	13	8	27
26 Vietnam	0	12	12	24

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Runner takes silver in 1,500m

Unflagging: Vietnamese runner Truong Thanh Hang takes a victory lap after claiming a siver medal for Viet Nam in the women's 1,500m at the Asian Games yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Quoc Khanh

HA NOI — Runner Truong Thanh Hang bagged a silver medal in the women's 1,500m at the Asian Games yesterday after a strong last 50m to finish between two Bahrainian athletes.

Hang clocked in at 4 minutes 9.58 seconds, 1.36sec slower than Bahraini Maryam Yusyf Jamal, who took the gold.

Bahraini Mimi Belete Gebregiorges came in at 4:10.42 to take bronze.

Hang's performance was the best by a Vietnamese runner since the country made its debut at the Asian Games 28 years ago.

The HCM City native, who won two gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games in the 800m and 1,500m last year, did her best to beat her previous time of 4:11.60 on the track yesterday.

"I'm very glad to win the silver today. It's beyond my expectation at the Asian Games because I just keep my eye on my favourite 800m," Hang said after the race.

"I did not believe myself in the 1,500m race, however, I tried to finish with my best time," the 24-year-old said.

Viet Nam also qualified for the women's 4x100m relay final, finishing their heat in 45.12sec yesterday.

On Monday, Hang's teammate, Vu Thi Huong, set a milestone for Viet Nam's athletics at ASIAD when she bagged a bronze medal in the women's 100m.

Viet Nam have so far won 12 silver and 12 bronze medals. They are currently 26th in the medals table.

Viet Nam yesterday beat China 2-0 in the second match of the women's sepak takraw regu event yesterday.

It was the defending champions' second win of the games.

The Vietnamese won the first hotly contested set 22-20. The second set went more smoothly for the visitors, who won 21-12.

The champions, who failed to defend their team title last week, will face Thailand in the final today.

Thailand recorded their second win yesterday beating Myanmar 21-9, 21-19.

The eagerly anticipated clash between Viet Nam and Thailand is likely to determine the competition's eventual winner as the two sides are considered the best in the world.

Meanwhile, Tran Van Long booked a berth in the final round of the men's single 200m canoe race after clocking a time of 43.075sec. — VNS

Asian Games Medals Tally

Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1 China	165	85	79
2 South Korea	64	55	74
3 Japan	34	64	68
4 Chinese Taipei	12	11	29
5 Iran	12	9	15
6 Hong Kong	8	14	14
7 Kazakhstan	7	14	26
8 India	7	12	20
9 Thailand	7	7	26
10 Malaysia	6	13	8
11 Uzbekistan	5	13	17
12 North Korea	5	10	15
13 Indonesia	4	8	10
14 Singapore	4	6	6
15 Bahrain	3	0	3
16 Kuwait	2	3	0
17 Philippines	2	2	8
18 Qatar	2	2	4
19 Saudi Arabia	2	1	2
20 Mongolia	1	2	6
21 Kyrgyzstan	1	2	1
22 Pakistan	1	2	1
23 Jordan	1	1	1
24 Macau	1	1	0
25 Tajikistan	1	0	2
26 Viet Nam	0	12	12
27 Myanmar	0	5	1
28 UAE	0	2	0
29 Lebanon	0	1	2
30 Afghanistan	0	1	1
31 Bangladesh	0	1	0
32 Iraq	0	0	2
32 Laos	0	0	2
34 Oman	0	0	1

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