Saturday, December 11, 2010

Vovinam tournament kicks off

The first Northern Vovinam (Vietnamese martial arts) Championships kicked off yesterday with the participation of nearly 270 athletes from 23 delegations at the Trinh Hoai Duc Gymnasium in Ha Noi.

Martial artists will compete in nine categories for women and 11 for men, with 38 medal sets in both performance and combat up for grabs.

The finals are scheduled for Sunday.

Success at the event will be an important indicator for sports leaders who are thinking about national team selections for the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia next December.

Minh strolls into HK Open semis

Nguyen Tien Minh walked into the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Badminton Super Series after strong rival Lin Dan of China withdrew yesterday.

Minh who is the world No 5 and seeded eight at the tournament, will play Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia who defeated Chen Jin of China in the quarter-finals.

Minh and Lee have met several times but Minh has only defeated the world No 1 once, at the Singapore Open in 2008.

AVG secures broadcast rights

Viet Nam Athletics Federation (VAF) has signed a broadcasting rights contract with media company Global Audio Visual (AVG), opening a new chapter in the sport's history.

"It will be good for both sides as people will get a chance to learn more about our activities while the company will also benefit from advertising," said Nguyen Manh Hung, an official from the VAF.

Under the 20-year contract starting from 2011, AVG will own the sole rights to the country's biggest tournaments including the National Championships, the National Youth Championships and the National Age-Group Championships.

Its value was undisclosed but officials expected that it will play a key role in supporting athletes with training facilities and intensive training courses abroad.

VAF is the media firm's second Vietnamese partner, following a recent deal that the Viet Nam Football Federation struck with AVG, also for 20 years. — VNS

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Fans head for Malaysia in record numbers

HA NOI — Football fans have made record bookings with Vietnam Airlines and AirAsia for flights to Kuala Lumpur to see Viet Nam play Malaysia in the semi-final first leg match of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup on December 15.

The tickets, reportedly now almost sold out, were not cheap.

The return fare with Vietnam Airlines is VND9.5 million (US$475) and $365 with budget carrier, AirAsia.

"Our group began planning to fly to Malaysia to support the national team as soon as Viet Nam qualified for the semi-finals," said former The Cong football fan club deputy chairman Nguyen Hong Thuy.

"It was difficult to get tickets for December 14-15 so we booked a day earlier.

"We knew we would have to pay a high price because it's late notice but we will not abandon the team."

The excited fan said her group would carry the national flag, Uncle Ho's portrait, drums, banners and cymbals to the match.

"We will ‘paint' the Bukit Jalil Stadium red with our T-shirts and yellow stars," she said.

Major travel agency Viettravel has chartered two aircraft with a total of 360 seats and is offering return tickets from HCM City for VND8.99 million and VND9.99 million from Ha Noi.

The price includes match entry.

The agent also offers 2-4 day football tours for VND9 million.

Ha Noi-based Redtour also has plans.

"We are co-operating with different partners to satisfy fans' demands and have created a package tour costing $469, some of which have already been sold," said Nguyen Cong Hoan, deputy director of the company.

Tong Thu Hien from Ha Noi Tourist company also confirmed that they were fully booked, saying the phone had not stopped ringing in the past few days but her company had only been able to take group bookings of 16 as it didn't cater for individuals. — VNS

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Bodybuilders snatch silvers in Oman Games

MUSCAT, Oman — Vietnamese bodybuilders grabbed three silvers and one bronze from the second Asian Beach Games which is ongoing in Muscat, Oman.

Top athlete Pham Van Mach who is the Asian defending champion failed to persuade judges yesterday that he was worth gold in the men's under-60kg category.

The gold medal went to Indonesian Asrelawndi, while Thai Jiraphan Pongkam took the bronze.

Mach's teammate Nguyen Van Lam added the second silver for Viet Nam in the men's under-65kg class. The silver of the HCM City-based athlete was unexpected as he came to Muscat to protect his crown.

Lam who grabbed a gold medal from 2009 Asian championship and a world bronze medal three years ago failed to defend the title which went to Somkhit Sumethowetchakun of Thailand. Viet Nam's Nguyen Truong Giang took the bronze.

Nguyen Hai Au who started his international career with a title from the recent Southeast Asian tournament continued competing successfully with the third silver for Viet Nam in the men's under-70kg pool.

Somsri Turinthaisong 70kg ranked third for a bronze.

Sazali Abd Samad of Malaysia showed his beautiful body form yesterday to enjoy glory in this pool.

The second Asian Beach Games which will close on December 16 drew more than 2,000 athletes and coaches from 45 countries and territories. The 48 member strong Vietnamese delegation will take part in seven events. The team set the target of taking from one to two gold medals this time. — VNS

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Vietnam - Cuba cultural exchange held in Cuba

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in Havana , Cuba , and the
Federation of University Students (FEU) on December 9 held a cultural
exchange to mark the 50 th anniversary of Vietnamese-Cuban diplomatic
ties (December 2, 1960 – December 2, 2010) .


Attending the event were the vice rector of Havana University Cristina
Diaz Lopez, representatives from the Cuban Ministry of Universities, the
Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cuban Institute for
Friendship with the People (ICAP).


During the event,
Vietnamese and Cuban students performed variety of songs and dances as
well as traditional dances from both nations.


The
Vietnamese students put on a display of many fine arts and hand-made
products such as embroidered pictures, lacquered flower vases and silk
flowers. They also organised a small photos exhibition on the friendly
and close relationship and traditional links between Vietnam and
Cuba .


The event helped to strengthen the mutual
understanding between Vietnamese and Cuban youngsters as well as
consolidate friendship and solidarity between the two nations./.

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Friday, December 10, 2010

New biopic on President Ho makes premiere

New biopic on President Ho makes premiere

A film about President Ho’s revolutionary activities in China – “Vuot
qua ben Thuong Hai” (Across Shanghai) made by the Vietnam Writers’
Association Film Studio (VIVAFILM), premiered in Hanoi on Dec. 12.


VIVAFILM Director Nguyen Xuan Hung said the biopic can be seen as the
second part of “Nguyen Ai Quoc o Hong Kong (Nguyen Ai Quoc in Hong
Kong).


The film will be officially on screens in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as from Dec. 17.


Based
on the script by Vietnamese writers Ha Pham Phu and Le Ngoc Minh and
Chinese author Jia Fei, the film, directed by Trieu Tuan of Vietnam and
Fan Dong Yu of China, portrays the life of Nguyen Ai Quoc in 1934 when
he came from Hong Kong to Shanghai to try to make contact with
international revolutionary movement.


The film spotlights the
innate traits of a leader of Nguyen Ai Quoc and praises the
contributions to the Vietnamese revolutionary cause by Vietnamese
patriots in China and the assistance that several historic figures gave
to Nguyen in Shanghai.


The film was mainly shot in Hengdian Film
Studio in Shanghai, and Nghe An, Quang Binh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Nam
provinces of Vietnam. The role of Nguyen Ai Quoc is played by actor Minh
Hai.


The State provided 70 percent of the film’s cost, about 11 billion VND, and the remaining 30 percent was mobilised by VIVAFILM.


After
the film, VIVAFILM has begun shooting two other films also of
revolutionary topics to celebrate the 11th National Party Congress in
2011./.

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Fans make record bookings for Kuala Lumpur

HA NOI – Football fans have made record bookings with Vietnam Airlines and AirAsia for flights to Kuala Lumpur to see Viet Nam play Malaysia in the first leg match of the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup next Wednesday.

The tickets, reportedly now sold out, are not cheap.

The return fare with Vietnam Airlines is VND9.5 million (US$475) and $365 with budget carrier, AirAsia.

"Our group began planning to fly to Malaysia to support the national team immediately Viet Nam won into the semi-finals," round, said former The Cong Football Club director Nguyen Hong Thuy.

"It was difficult to get tickets for December 14-15 so we booked a day earlier.

"We knew we would have to pay a high price because it's almost out of date but we will not abandon the team."

The excited fan said her group would carry the national flag, Uncle Ho's portrait, drums, banners and cymbals to the match.

"We will 'paint' the Bukit Jalil Stadium red with our T-shirts and yellow stars," she said.

Major travel agency Viettravel have chartered two aircraft from with a 360 seats total of and are offering return tickets from HCM City for VND8.99 million and VND9.99 million from Ha Noi.

The price includes match entry.

The agent also offers 2-4 day football tours for VND9 million. – VNS

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VN swimmers ready for World Championships

Making a splash: Vietnamese swimmer Vo Thai Nguyen competes in the men's 200m butterfly at the Southeast Asian Games in Laos. He will be competing at the World Swimming Championships in Dubai from December 15-19. — VNA/VNS Photo Quoc Khanh

Making a splash: Vietnamese swimmer Vo Thai Nguyen competes in the men's 200m butterfly at the Southeast Asian Games in Laos. He will be competing at the World Swimming Championships in Dubai from December 15-19. — VNA/VNS Photo Quoc Khanh

HA NOI — Vo Thai Nguyen and Pham Thi Hue will represent Viet Nam at the World Swimming Champion-ships in Dubai from December 15-19.

Nguyen, who was the only Vietnamese athlete to qualify for a final at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, last month, will compete in the men's 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly events.

His teammate, 16-year-old Hue, will participate in the women's 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke events.

The athletes will depart for Dubai today.

The competetion will take place in the spectacular new Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Sports Complex, the first time a FINA World Swimming Championships has been held in the Middle East.

The Championships are set to be the biggest in FINA's history, with more than 700 of the world's best athletes from over 139 countries visiting to Dubai to take part in five days of top-class racing.

Among the world's best swimmers set to take part in the tournament are Geoff Huegill and Leisel Jones of Australia, Ryan Lochte and Rebecca Soni from the USA, China's Liu Zige, Alain Bernard of France, Italy's Federica Pellegrini and Japan's Ryosuke Irie. — VNS

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