Golf experiences new wave of popularity

by Vuong Tri Dung

HCM CITY — Golf has been played in western countries for centuries and has recently become even more popular all over the world. It will also be added to the Olympics in 2016.

Following an interruption due to war, golf made a comeback to Viet Nam along with the country's global integration.

In recent years the sport has begun gaining popularity with the advent of many good golf courses, domestic and international competitions, as well as the establishment of local golf associations like the Ha Noi Golf Association.

The Viet Nam Golf Association lists some of the highlights of the past year.

1. Golf become a sport at the National Sports Games for the first time, with a competition held at the Ocean Dunes golf club in Phan Thiet. The event, held from August 11 to 14, attracted golfers from 11 provinces and cities. HCM City won the men's event while Ba Ria-Vung Tau won the women's event.

2. The Mercedes-Benz Masters Viet Nam, one of the most important professional golf competitions in Southeast Asia, was organised last October at the Song Be course in the southern province of Binh Duong with 33 top players in the region taking part. Malaysian Nicolas Fung won the title, the first of his career, as the US$60,000 tournament used the match-play format for the first time.

3. Five young Vietnamese golfers qualified for the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in China. Do Le Gia Dat and Nguyen Tri Dung went through after finishing first and second in the men's U21 event at the Youth National Golf Championships. Ngo Bao Nghi and Luu Thi Viet Nga finished first and second in the women's U21 event. Truong Chi Quan won the final spot with a win in the boys' U16 event.

4. The Viet Nam Amateur Open and Viet Nam Ladies Championships were held in Da Lat in June. The former attracted many top golfers in the Southeast Asia, including the gold, silver, and bronze medallists at the Southeast Asian Games. Thai golfer Wasin won the title while Viet Nam's Trinh Van Tho finished eighth. Ngo Bao Nghi won the Viet Nam Ladies Championships.

5. The Viet Nam Senior Championships was organised for the third straight year at the King's Island golf course in the north in March, with Duong Thanh winning the title.

6. The second Match Play Golf Championships featuring foreign professionals and amateurs working and living in Viet Nam was organised at the Montgomerie Links golf course in the central province of Quang Nam. Nguyen Thai Duong won the overall crown while Australian Scott Riddick won the division for foreign players. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung won the women's event and veteran Phan Thanh Chien finished first in the seniors' event. — VNS

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Voting controversy mars talent quest

Hanoi-based singer Nguyen Thi Minh Chuyen was named best singer at a
young talent quest in HCM City titled Morning Star-A Rendezvous.

Chuyen, 24, was the first female to win the prize at the contest, the
fourth of its kind for those between 18 and 25 years of age.

However, the contest, first held in 2004, was marred by controversy surrounding the voting system.

Many people in the audience and at home said they did not receive confirmation of their votes from contest organisers.

Others said they got a message saying "voting is closed" despite texting their votes well within the time limit.

In recent years, many music shows, contests and awards such as Morning
Star – A Rendezvous, Green Wave and Golden Album, have relied on public
votes, via texting, ratings and online voting.

This year, the competition, spread over nine consecutive Sundays, attracted 700 hopefuls, many from rural areas.

Chuyen is in her third year at the Military Culture & Arts College .

Two other contestants, Dinh Manh Ninh and Ha Hoai Thu, received complementary prizes as the most promising singers./.

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Minh starts New Year in Taipei

Top man: Vietnamese top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh plays in the National Sports Games in Da Nang last week. He will be competing in the BWF Super Series Final in Chinese Taipei. — VNS Photo Quang Thang

HA NOI — World No 8 Nguyen Tien Minh kicks off his 2011 at the Victor-BWF Super Series Final in Chinese Taipei on January 5-9.

The winner will take home 9,700 points followed by 8,250 points for the runner up, with losing semi-finalists receiving 6,800 points respectively. Players who fail to qualify for the semi-final round will collect 5,350 points.

The Super Series Final is for the eight highest rated players or pairs in the Super Series Standings, but is limited to a maximum of two players or pairs per member association.

The Finals are the climax of the 12-leg Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super Series circuit.

All eight athletes competing in the tournament's men's singles event will receive US$4,200 in appearance fees. Bonuses will be awarded to the players that progress further.

Minh who is seeded No 6 at the tournament will face difficulties, but it is not beyond the realms of possibility for him to take the $40,000 winner's cash prize.

The finals will feature the doubles Olympic defending champion Lin Dan of China and his world gold medallist team mate Chen Jin, who had limited appearances on the Super Series circuit this year, including failing to qualify for the Finals after they finished 11th and ninth respectively in the Super Series Standings.

In Taipei, Lee Chong Wei, the men's singles World No 1, will be joined by 2010 World Championships silver medallist Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, European champion Peter Gade from Denmark, Denmark Open champion Jan Jorgensen and the vastly improved Chen Long, heir apparent to three-time world champion Lin Dan.

Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana and China's Du Pengyu round up the cast for the men's singles.

The Vietnamese shuttler, who turned 27 on December 2, falls into the second tier of top competitors along with Ponsana, Du Pengyu and Jorgensen. However, Minh defeated Lee at the Singapore Open in 2009.

The draw was held late yesterday, with the championship to be held at the Hsinchuang Gymnasium. — VNS

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Southeast Asian Vovinam Federation set up

Meeting to announce the establishment of the Southeast Asian Vovinam Federation (SEAVF) was held in Cambodia on Tuesday, a token of the wide spreading of the Vietnamese martial arts after the world federation and the Asian federation were set up in 2008 and February this year respectively.

Representatives of five countries including Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia attended the event.

Thailand and Brunei didn’t attend the ceremony, but they technically support the establishment since the two are members of the World Vovinam Federation from 2008.

At the meeting, delegates voted Cambodian Vovinam Federation chairman Rat Sokhorn as SEAVF chairman. Vo Danh Hai from Vietnam and three representatives from Indonesia, Laos and Malaysia are vice chairmen.

Last year, Vovinam was approved to be included for official competition at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta in November.

Vovinam, created in 1938 in Hanoi by Master Nguyen Loc, is now popular in around 35 countries and territories where there are hundreds of thousands of practitioners.

The fighting technique, which involves both unarmed and weapons combat, uses the opponent’s momentum to counterattack. Its range of techniques includes the use of hands, elbows, and legs to throw, wrestle, and lever.

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Golf swings into schools as young learn game

by Cong Thanh

Driving for success: Vietnamese amateur Nguyen Dang Phong hits a drive. He was one of the first young prodigies to complete a training programme organised by the Ha Noi Golf Association last year. — VNS Photo Hoai Nam

HA NOI — Vietnamese amateur Nguyen Dang Phong trained for two years before winning his first title at the National Junior Golf Championship at the Ocean Dunes Golf Club in Phan Thiet City.

Phong, 12, from Ha Noi, fought back to take the title in a play-off with a birdie on the fourth hole against HCM City-born Nguyen Thanh Trung after finishing level after two rounds at the championship in August.

The 12-year-old has held a handicap of 21 since he began practising every weekend at the Chi Linh Stars Golf and Country Club in Hai Duong City from the age of 10.

Phong's progress earned him a sponsorship from the Ha Noi Golf Association last year.

"I love playing golf and I go to the course every weekend with my parents. I also like playing other sports such as football and table tennis, but I prefer golf as I have been playing it since I was six," Phong said, adding that the sport helped him to stay fit and gave him confidence for his studies.

The 6th grade student of the Ha Noi-based Singapore International School was one of the first young prodigies to complete a training programme that was organised by the Ha Noi Golf Association last year.

"We will select six 12-year-old kids for an elite training programme next year, of which the top four will form a squad to compete at international junior tournaments," said vice chairman of Ha Noi Golf Association Dong Van Tiep.

"The association will provide training facilities for and pay for coaching fees as well as find sponsors for further training abroad," Tiep explained.

Phong's father, Nguyen Dang Khanh said he wants his son to continue playing his favourite sport, rather than getting into trouble on the streets.

"My son began playing golf at a young age. My wife and I used to play every weekend and we've been taking him with us since he was six," Khanh said, adding that his son can hit a 180-yard drive with ease.

"I was surprised by how quickly he fell in love with golf. He's very skilful and his swing and putting are better than mine."

"I encourage him to play as an amateur while studying hard. He can make his own decision about becoming a professional golfer after college," Khanh said.

Khanh said he plans to send his son to study in the US, where he can study and train at the same time.

The Viet Nam Golf Association (VGA) is developing a programme to identify talented young golfers in schools across the country.

The VGA has been seeking a long term sponsorship deal to get the project off the ground from next year.

"The association plans to introduce golf into the school curriculum from next year, but we have to find a strong enough sponsor to get it started," said the VGA's general secretary Nguyen Ngoc Chu.

"Golf will make its debut at junior and senior secondary schools rather than primary schools. Students from the ages of 11-15 will practise golf in school with further training on the golf course," Chu said.

Chu said he hoped the project would be a positive step and the association would try its best to reach a sponsorship deal soon.

"It's the best way to sustainably develop a sport. We can find a lot of fresh talent by introducing children to golf in school time," the general secretary said. — VNS

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Top ten events in culture, sports and tourism in 2010

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Tourism officially announced ten outstanding cultural, sports and
tourism activities in 2010 in Hanoi on Dec. 30. They are:

1.
Cultural and fine arts activities mark major celebrations, including the
80th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the
national commemoration of the Hung Kings and the Hung King Temple
Festival, the 35th anniversary of the liberation of the south and
national reunification, President Ho Chi Minh’s 120th birthday, the 65th
anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day (Sept. 2) and the
80th anniversary of the Vietnam National United Front.

2.
Cultural, sports and tourism activities mark the grand celebration of
the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, including the biggest-ever
parade held at Ba Dinh Square on October 10, the opening of the
Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese ethnic groups, an exhibition on
Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements and Thang Long-Hanoi, the “Thang
Long-Hanoi craft villages and streets” festival, the sport competitions
and the Vietnamese film days for 1,000 years of Thang Long-Hanoi.

3.
Vietnam’s heritages have been recognised by UNESCO, including the Thang
Long Imperial Citadel recognised as a world cultural heritage site, the
Saint Giong Festival in Phu Dong and Soc Temples as an Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the 82 doctoral stone steles at the
Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university, recognised as a world
documentary heritage.

4. Cultural activities were held to
promote Vietnam’s land and people abroad, including the National Day at
the 2010 Shanghai EXPO and the Vietnam Culture Week in Cuba, Mexico,
Germany, Belgium, Cambodia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, China
and India.

5. International cultural and sport events were held for
the first time in Vietnam, including the International Photo Exhibition,
International Film Festival, International Piano Contest, Miss Earth
and the Thang Long-Hanoi International Football Cup to celebrate the
capital city’s millennium birthday.

6. Director and People’s Artist
Dang Nhat Minh was honoured by the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences for his contributions to the Vietnam’s cinematography.

7. Sports festivals at all levels and the seventh national sports festival were held.

8.
The Vietnamese sport delegation bagged 33 medals including those at
five Olympics sport events for the first time at the 16th Asian Games
(ASIAD 16); and the Vietnamese disabled athletes secured 17 medals,
placing 11th out of 42 delegations at the first Asian Para Games.

9. Vietnam’s tourism sector welcomed five millionth foreign visitor.

10.
Tourism promotion campaign in 2010 “Vietnam-Your destination”
contributed to attract foreign tourists to Vietnam and promoting
domestic tourism. The campaign helped Vietnam welcome over five million
foreign arrivals, 28 million local visitors and grossed an estimated
revenue of 100 trillion VND./.

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Malaysia claim first title at regional football

Malaysian footballers celebrate their victory at the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup in Jakarta on December 29, 2010 after winning Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate

Photo: AFP

Despite suffering a 2-1 loss to Indonesia on Wednesday, Malaysia still won their first title at Southeast Asian football championship with a 4-2 win in total after two legs.

Goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat saved an early penalty and Safee Sali netted his fifth goal of the tournament to take Malaysia to the final victory.

Trailing 3-0 from the first leg in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, Indonesia staged in the game more aggressively in a bid to cut the deficit.

Mohammad Nasuha pulled back a goal with 18 minutes remaining and Muhammad Ridwan scored with a deflected effort two minutes from time to give Indonesia the win.

Malaysian Ashari Samsuddin launched the ball forward to Safee, who outpaced the Indonesian defense before lashing the ball into the top left corner of the net for his tournament-leading fifth goal.

The crowd, which included Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, had filled every seat in the 85,000-capacity stadium nearly two hours before kick-off, hoping to roar their team on to the quick start that they needed to turn the tie around after their decisive loss in the first leg.

The Indonesian continued to press but could not manage another breakthrough until the 88th minute when Ridwan's shot from the edge of the box took a deflection off a Malaysian defender on its way past Khairul.

Bambang had a chance to net a third for the Indonesians in stoppage time but his free-kick was well saved by Khairul as the Malaysians easily hung on to claim the title.

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