Vietnamese teenager Nguyen Hoang Thien and his partner Jack Schipanski of Australia have won the men's doubles event at the Tennis Central U18 ITF Summer Championship in New Zealand.
Thien and Schipanski defeated Mouslay Bradley-Li Tu of Australia 6-3, 6-0 in around 60 minutes on Friday.
Later in the tournament, Thien lost 3-6, 3-6 to his partner in the men's singles semi-finals.
It is the third time in a year that Thien has triumphed in an U18 tournament. The two previous occasions were in Viet Nam.
His victory was a step towards breaking into the top 200 players in the world, a feat he plans to achieve this year.
Thien was the first Vietnamese player to be invited to play in the Australian Open.
Liem on track to defend Moscow championship crown
International Grand Master (IGM) Le Quang Liem is sitting at the top of the Russian Aeroflot Chess Festival after his first draw on Saturday in Moscow.
Liem won his first four games but could only manage to tie with host rival GM Evgeny Tomashevsky in his fifth round match.
The Vietnamese star is right on track to defending his title after defeating tournament favourite and former world champion Gata Kamsky of the US on Friday.
Liem, who is attempting to become the first Vietnamese super IGM this year, will next face GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan who is currently in fourth position.
The tournament will conclude on Saturday with a prize of US$20,000 going to the winner. — VNS
