Thien triumphs at junior tournament

BINH DUONG — Viet Nam's Nguyen Hoang Thien has lifted the Becamex Cup by outclassing Makus Kerner of Estonia in two straight sets to win the 2010 Viet Nam International Junior Tennis Championship.

At Binh Duong near HCM City yesterday the top-seeded Thien broke Kerner's service in the fourth and sixth games of the first set to win 6-2.

All the fight seemed to leave the fourth seed in the second set as Thien took it 6-0 to win the match in just 55 minutes.

"Because Kerner is tall and strong, I used low balls to prevent his powerful forehands," Thien said.

He will next play in a Grade 3 junior tournament in Malaysia next week before going on to the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, next month.

"I have been out of tennis for six months because of injury. Now I am fit and hope to earn more points by the end of the year to improve my ranking," he said.

It is the 15-year-old's second title in two weeks after winning a similar tournament in Bac Lieu province.

The 30 points he has got from the tournament will see his ranking rise from the current 369th.

Vietnamese pair Nguyen Ngoc Minh and Phan Thi Thanh Binh squandered three match points to lose to top-seeded Anna Clarice Patrimonio of the Philippines and Nadya Syarifah of Indonesia in the final.

Vietnamese-Philippine Nguyen Tamitha,16, beat Patrimonio in straight sets (6-2, 6-4) to win the girls' singles. — VNS

Related Articles

• Weightlifter grabs Vietnam’s first Olympic gold at Youth Games
• Thien wins second championship title at U18 ITF
• Poor rural children blaze education trail

New talents found at U.21 football contest

The ongoing National U.21 competition in Gia Lai Province is still very exciting thanks to the shining performance of some up-and-coming stars.

Dong Nai has introduced a well-rounded team at the 14th annual youth competition, sponsored by Thanh Nien. The balanced squad advanced to the semifinals ahead of powerhouse Nghe An and reigning champions Da Nang.

Apart from familiar favorites-Captain Duc Nhan and midfielder Huu Phat, crowds and enthusiasts have been wowed by the debut performances of goalkeeper Thanh Diep, midfielder The Hung and striker Nguyen Tuan Anh.

It was Tuan Anh who scored the only goal in the team’s defeat of Nghe An during the opening match of this year’s contest.

Hosts Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) is another team that has also managed to impress.

“We consider these players the future substitutes for HAGL’s first team,” said HAGL coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan. “For this reason, HAGL’s U.21 s have been specially trained.”

HAGL’s new names like Ut Cuong, Duy Thanh and Xuan Hieu helped the Central Highland squad finish at the top of Group A.

As usual, youth training centers Nghe An and Da Nang have come out with some new young talent. However, Vietnamese football enthusiasts should be jazzed about this year’s promising new crop across the board.

Strong clubs in Vietnam’s top-tier V-League are beginning to pay attention to training young players to substitute the veterans. Thanh Nien’s U.21 contest has offered an excellent proving ground for the nation’s next generation of football stars.

Thanh Nien newspaper, launched the annual event 14 years ago. Since then, the appearance of more youth training centers has helped to improve the quality of play at the competition and throughout the country.

Related Articles

• New talents found at U.21 football contest
• Party members found guilty of violating discipline, law
• Ford rewards employee’s technician skills in contest
• Friendship Association issues book about Ho Chi Minh
• Hanoi T&T win first V-League after scoreless draw

New talents found at U.21 football contest

The ongoing National U.21 competition in Gia Lai Province is still very exciting thanks to the shining performance of some up-and-coming stars.

Dong Nai has introduced a well-rounded team at the 14th annual youth competition, sponsored by Thanh Nien. The balanced squad advanced to the semifinals ahead of powerhouse Nghe An and reigning champions Da Nang.

Apart from familiar favorites-Captain Duc Nhan and midfielder Huu Phat, crowds and enthusiasts have been wowed by the debut performances of goalkeeper Thanh Diep, midfielder The Hung and striker Nguyen Tuan Anh.

It was Tuan Anh who scored the only goal in the team’s defeat of Nghe An during the opening match of this year’s contest.

Hosts Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) is another team that has also managed to impress.

“We consider these players the future substitutes for HAGL’s first team,” said HAGL coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan. “For this reason, HAGL’s U.21 s have been specially trained.”

HAGL’s new names like Ut Cuong, Duy Thanh and Xuan Hieu helped the Central Highland squad finish at the top of Group A.

As usual, youth training centers Nghe An and Da Nang have come out with some new young talent. However, Vietnamese football enthusiasts should be jazzed about this year’s promising new crop across the board.

Strong clubs in Vietnam’s top-tier V-League are beginning to pay attention to training young players to substitute the veterans. Thanh Nien’s U.21 contest has offered an excellent proving ground for the nation’s next generation of football stars.

Thanh Nien newspaper, launched the annual event 14 years ago. Since then, the appearance of more youth training centers has helped to improve the quality of play at the competition and throughout the country.

Related Articles

• New talents found at U.21 football contest
• Ford rewards employee’s technician skills in contest
• Hanoi T&T win first V-League after scoreless draw
• Chau Doc’s curried fish vermicelli: Bun nuoc ken
• Future doctors look for clues in crazy race

Ho Chi Minh City Days festival begins in Pusan

The “Ho Chi Minh City Days in Pusan ” festival opened at the Pusan
Cultural Centre in the Republic of Korea , on October 14, with a
special show to mark the 15 th anniversary of both municipalities
becoming sister cities.

Vietnam ’s Ambassador to the RoK Tran Trong Toan underlined the growing
relationship the two sister cities have had over the past few years.

He
highlighted the efforts made by the authorities and people of both
cities to develop their friendship and cooperation, including the
important role played by Vietnam ’s consul general in Pusan and
Kyeongnam, the RoK’s consul general in HCM City as well as
friendship organisations, businesses and individuals from both cities.

Leaders
from both cities spoke highly of the fruitful results of bilateral
relations and discussed plans for cooperating further in the future
during the talks, within the framework of the festival.

A series
of cooperative agreements signed by both municipal authorities has
helped to promote political, economic, and cultural activities between
both cities.

They have also exchanged delegations to share their
experiences in developing and managing the real estate market,
transportation, post and telecoms. They also debated how districts from
both cities could cooperate more effectively.

First established
in November 1995, the relationship between HCM City and Pusan is
considered the most dynamic twinning between Vietnam and the RoK.

The
festival is a regular and rotated activity between both countries to
promote bilateral political, economic and cultural cooperation./.

Related Articles

• Civil servants to enjoy State housing
• Between a sinkhole and a soft place
• Poor rural children blaze education trail
• New decree hopes to protect holders of convertible bonds
• Thousands await relocation

Grand masters to battle in France

Two International Grand Masters (IGM) Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc
Truong Son will compete in the Cap D'Agde Rapid Chess tournament in
France from October 23-31.

The two top Vietnamese
grand masters will test their skills against formidable opponents,
including Russian giant Anatoly Karpov, Vasily Ivanchuk from Ukraine, Bu
Xiangzhi from China and Judith Polgar from Hungary.

Liem and Son will use the event as a warm up for the Asian Games in Guangzhou , China next month.

Liem, 19, has been in top form since finishing second at the
Sparkassen Chess Meeting that was held in Dortmund , Germany in
July.

He also won the Moscow Open in February.

Last year, the HCM City-born player broke into the world's top 20 FIDE
rankings, and was the only Vietnamese player to make the list of
leading male chess masters.

However, Son and Liem performed poorly at the Chess Olympiad last month.

Son, who became a Grand Master in March 1997 when he was 14 years old,
will face China 's Bu Xiangzhi, an arch rival, in the Cap D'Agde
tourney.

The match will be held next Friday.

After the tournament, the two top players will have a 10-day break before flying to Guangzhou for the Asian Games./.

Related Articles

• HCMC to relay grand sale program to November
• Food promotions at Grand and First hotels
• Electric cars ferry tourists around city's Old Quarter

Temple restoration wins prize

A project to restore a 17th century temple on the outskirts of Ha Noi,
which was carried out by architect Le Thanh Vinh, won the highest prize
in the heritage preservation category at the International Union of
Architects event in Xi'an, China.

This is the first time Vietnamese architects have won an international architecture prize for restoration work.

The project beat out 33 entries from 14 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Chu Quyen Temple , which is commonly known as Chang Temple ,
in Hanoi 's Ba Vi district was primarily built with wood by the end
of 17th century.

The temple was recognised as a
national historic heritage site in 1962. Restoration on the temple began
in 2005 and was completed earlier this year.

Various modern techniques were used to remove mould from the wooden pillars, Vinh said.

"While overseeing the restoration work, I noticed that we didn't have
enough professional restorers," said Vinh. "We cannot restore a relic in
a rush without taking the proper precautions. There are only a few
experts who can handle such a task."

Vinh said the
country needs to begin training more restoration workers, who are
experts in architecture, construction, culture and history.

Deputy Minister of Culture Tran Chien Thang said that the project
should serve as the standard that later restoration projects should
emulate./.

Related Articles

• Hanoi model wins Miss Vietnam 2010
• Writers’ temple to display bronze drums
• ASEAN role sought to resolve temple conflict
• 40th UPU letter writing contest gets underway
• Poor rural children blaze education trail

Hanoi hosts seminar on Italian language

Advantages and prospects for Italian speakers as well as experience in
learning the language were discussed at a seminar in Hanoi on Oct.
14.

The seminar, the highlight of the Italian Language Week in
Vietnam , drew the participations of the ambassadors of Argentina ,
Pakistan , Switzerland and Venezuela , the director of the Goethe
Institute and a number of Vietnamese students.

Writer Mario
Fortunato, former director of the Italian Institute of Culture in
London , said that the first heritage of the nation is its language and
Italian is the language of a nation rich of cultural heritages.

Italian is also the language of cuisine, arts, fashion, architecture and
design and renovation, said Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrea
Perugini.

The Vietnamese translation of a masterpiece of Italian literature “If this is a man” was launched on this occasion.

The autobiographical book was written by Italian writer and chemist
Primo Levi, who based the book on his own experiences in a Nazi
concentration camp during World War II./.

Related Articles

• HCM City hosts ports, logistics confab
• Victims of food poisoning leave hospital
• VietnamPlus adds Chinese news to mobile web
• Timeout with a good book