Most Outstanding Athletes 2010 selected

Japan's Momoko Takahashi (R), Vietnam's Vu Thi Huong (C) and Uzbekistan's Guzel Khubbieva run their women's 100m final at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, Guangdong province last month - Photo: Reuters

HCMC - Track-and-field athlete Vu Thi Huong, the “Queen of Speed” in Southeast Asia, has been selected the Best Athlete of 2010 followed by her teammate Truong Thanh Hang and Asian Games gold medalist Le Bich Phuong.

Vietnamese track-and-field athletes showed some excellent performances at the 16th Asian Games (ASIAD) in Guangzhou, China last month, taking home three silvers and two bronzes. Huong, along with fellow runners Truong Thanh Hang and Vu Van Huyen, were all nominated for Vietnam’s top 10 outstanding athletes.

Vu Thi Huong from the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, who won Best Athlete of 2009, secured the second consecutive title by making history for Vietnam athletics at ASIAD by winning Vietnam’s first ever medal at the games - a bronze medal in the women’s 100m event. She also won a silver in the 200m race.

Huong beat Hang to the title as she picked up 1,213 points, while Hang, who grasped two silver medals in the ASIAD in the women’s 800m and 1500m events, came second with 1,208 points.

Though athlete Le Bich Phuong won the only gold medal for Vietnam at ASIAD in the women’s karate 55kg category, she came third with 1,047 points.

The other winners in the top 10 were the world’s number seven badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh (631 points), track and field athlete Vu Van Huyen (582 points), chess player Le Quang Liem (558 points), weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan (331 points), shooter Ha Minh Thanh (274 points), wrestler Le Thi Lua (257 points), and swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc (218).

For contributing to the track and field team’s great victory last year, coach Ho Thi Tu Tam from Danang Sports Training Center was voted Coach of the Year 2010 with 463 points, beating Karate head coach Le Cong from the Army team and track and field coach Nguyen Dinh Minh from HCMC, who won second and third places with 395 and 376 points respectively

Meanwhile, shooting coach Nguyen Thi Nhung from the General Department of Sports and Physical Training earned fourth position with 167 points, followed by chess coach Lam Minh Chau from HCMC with 138 points.

Swimmer Vo Thanh Tung from HCMC, who won a gold and a silver at the 2010 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China, won the best para-athlete award with 550 points, while badminton coach Le Thuy Ha received the nomination for most outstanding coach for disabled athletes in the vote by journalists and sports experts with 332 points. 

Hundreds of sports experts and journalists from Hanoi, HCMC and Danang voted over the weekend for the top 10 athletes, top five coaches, top five para-athletes and top three para-athletes’ coaches.

The annual vote was organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Vietnam Fund for Supporting Young Talent and The Thao Viet Nam (Vietnam Sports) newspaper.

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Hanoi T&T win Super Cup 2011 in penalty shootout

HCMC – Hanoi T&T won the Super Cup for the first time after beating Song Lam Nghe An 4-2 in a penalty shootout at Hang Day Stadium in Hanoi yesterday, picking up VND150 million in cash.

They drew 2-2 in the official time, Edmun Owusu and Nguyen Trong Hoang scored for Song Lam Nghe An in the 53rd and 69th minutes but Cao Sy Cuong and Cristiano Roland leveled the score for the home side in the 81st minute and injury time.

Backed by thousands of spectators, the home team totally controlled the first half while Song Lam Nghe An played defensively and relied on rare counter attacks.

Both sides created scoring chances but the score was goalless upon the referee’s whistle at the end of the half.

In the second half, Song Lam placed more attacks on their opponent defenders in search for a goal and Edmun Owusu opened for the National Cup winners in the 53rd minute.

Hanoi T&T bounced back after the goal and their players dominated the ball possession but the home side forwards squandered chances.

Midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang doubled for the visitors in the 69th minute. However, Cao Sy Cuong narrowed the score for Hanoi T&T in the 81st minute before Cristiano Roland leveled the score at 2-2 in the injury time.

In the shoot-out, Hanoi T&T goalkeeper Nguyen Duc Thang made a brilliant save from Nguyen Van Quyet’s kick to be the hero for his team while Tran Dinh Dong and  Nguyen Trong Hoang failed to score in their penalty shootouts for Song Lam Nghe An.

The runners up received VND70 million in cash. 

To mark the start of the football season, the Super Cup is held every year between the previous season’s National Football Championship winner and the winner of the National Cup.

Hanoi T&T won the premier league in June while Song Lam Nghe An defeated two-time V-League champions Hoang Anh Gia Lai 1-0 in the National Cup final in August.

Last year, National Cup winners Lam Son Thanh Hoa won the Super Cup after defeating V-League champions SHB Danang 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out at Ninh Binh Stadium in northern Ninh Binh Province. The Super Cup was organized for the first time in 1998.

It is the 12th year that the event has been organized by Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper and the Vietnam Football Federation. The 584 Group is the cup’s sponsors.

The National Cup 2011 began on Saturday. The tournament has attracted 27 teams from the premier V-League and the First Division, competing in knock-out format.

The Vietnam League will open on February 22 and the First Division Tournament will begin two days earlier. The two that are most important tournaments of Vietnamese football will close on August 21 and 20, respectively.

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VN folk painting exhibition opens in Laos

A folk painting exhibition of Vietnam was held in the Lao Capital of
Vientiane on Jan.10 to mark the 81 st anniversary of the Communist
Party of Vietnam’s foundation (Feb. 3, 1930 - Feb. 3, 2011), the 11 th
National Party Congress and the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

The 3-day event is co-organised by Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and the Vietnamese Culture Centre in Laos.

Attending the opening ceremony were the Lao Minister of Information
and Culture Mounkeo Oraboune, the Lao Minister of Health Ponmek Dalaloy;
the Charge d’affaires of the Vietnamese Embassy to Laos Luong Quoc Huy
and other officials from the two nations.

On
display are typical folk paintings of Vietnam such as the Dong Ho
style (Bac Ninh province), the Hang Trong ( Hanoi ), the Kim Hoang (Ha
Tay province), the Lang Sinh ( Hue ) and the 19 th century’s ancient
worship paintings of Nghe An province.

Through its
profound contents, the exhibition helps spectators to further understand
the quintessential colours and meanings of the Vietnamese folk painting
genre, which are made of traditional materials with an original
artistry.

The exhibition, which also aims to
further strengthen friendly relations between Vietnam and Lao, will
be on display until March 10./.

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Sprinter Huong tops list of outstanding athletes

Sprinter Vu Thi Huong topped this year's
poll on Vietnam's most outstanding athletes and coaches.

Huong, 25, who won a bronze medal in the women's 100m and a silver in
the 200m in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, notched up 1,213
points in the poll. She edged out teammates Truong Thanh Hang, who came
in with 1,208 points to make the top ten list; Karateist Le Bich Phuong,
who won Vietnam's only gold medal to salvage Vietnamese pride in the
martial arts competitions at the Asian Games, ranked third with 1,047
points; and badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh placed fourth.

Swimmer Vo Thanh Tung topped the list of disabled athletes with 550
points. He won a gold medal in the men's 50m freestyle at the Asian
ParaGames for disabled athletes in Guangzhou, China last December.

Runner-up was badminton player Pham Duc Trung, who also
grabbed a gold in the Asian ParaGames, gaining 480 points from the
selection. Another badminton player, Hoang Pham Thang, placed third,
winning 376 points.

In the coaches category, coach Ho Thi
Tu Tam won 463 points to take the top spot. The army's karate coach, Le
Cong, took second ahead of track and field coach Nguyen Dinh Minh.
Badminton coach Le Thuy Nga was voted the top coach for disabled
athletes.

The awards are jointly organised by the Ministry
of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union,
the Vietnam Fund for Young Talent Support and The Thao Vietnam (Vietnam
Sports) newspaper.

A gala to honour athletes and coaches will be held in Hanoi next month./.

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Architectural heritage crumbles

Historic buildings in two
localities that functioned as commercial port towns during the Nguyen
dynasty are in a severely dilapidated condition.

The Bao Vinh town, which hosted a busy port in 18th century, had 39 old buildings standing at the end of the American War.

Meanwhile, Gia Hoi, a bustling port town in early 19th century, had 140
old buildings featuring traditional Vietnamese, Chinese as well as
French colonial architecture.

These buildings have been so
badly damaged by the rampant urbanisation of last two decades, that
only 15 of them still stand in Bao Vinh, while Gia Hoi has 55.

Residents complain that they are caught in a bind. On the one hand,
they cannot repair their houses to make them safe or expand it to meet
their needs because authorities have banned such actions. On the other
hand, the authorities themselves have taken no action to preserve the
old buildings.

"Many old houses in Bao Vinh are in ruin
and vulnerable to floods and hard weather," said Nguyen Van Bon,
chairman of Huong Vinh commune.

A conservation project to
protect the two towns was set up by Thua Thien Hue province in 2003, but
only three houses were repaired with funds from the French Parliament.
In Gia Hoi, one pagoda had its gate and entrance restored.

Experts have called on authorities to act before it is too late.

"Architecture reflects history, so there is a need to protect Bao Vinh
and Gia Hoi. Authorities should promptly come up with ways to deal with
the conflict between conservation and locals' benefits," said Nguyen
Viet Tien, chairman of the province's Planning Association.

Nguyen Xuan Hoa, former director of the province's Culture Department,
said it was not possible to restore Bao Vinh as an old town because not
many old house remained in it.

"But Gia Hoi has unique
architectural values with a national-heritage pagoda, a Hindu temple,
the house of a Japanese karate master, overseas Chinese club house,
French colonial buildings and palaces of royal family members. It would
be interesting to restore the old town," he said./.

Vietnam symphony orchestra performs in US

Artists from the Vietnam National
Symphony Orchestra (VNNO) joined with others from Japan, the Republic
of Korea and the United States in a concert at Carnegie Hall in
New York on Jan. 8.

Themed “Peace”, the joint concert was the
first of its kind in New York, drawing diplomat officials and audiences
from the four countries.

With works by the world’s well-known
composers of Mikhail Glinka, Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, the
artists reflected the aspiration of peace and friendship among nations.

Ambassador
Bui The Giang, Deputy Head of the Vietnamese permanent delegation to
the UN, said this is first time in New York a join music concert of
Vietnam, the RoK, Japan and the US has taken place.

“This is a
symbol of development of friendship and cooperation among nations and
delivers a message of peace and friendship to people all over the
world,” Ambassador Giang said before the performance.

The concert
under the baton of Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji is performed by
artists from the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, the US Jerusalem
Symphony Orchestra and 16-year-old pianist Isadora Kim of the RoK./.

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Vietnam masters lose at HDBank 2011 chessfest

Le Quang Liem

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Top-seed Le Quang Liem and second-seed Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son failed to win top prizes at the HDBank 2011 chess tournament, which wrapped up Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City’s Rex Hotel.

After nine matches, these grandmasters each earned 6.5 points and were ranked at 4th and 5th respectively. They were awarded $1,500 each.

“They are considered top contenders for the championship so are under great pressure. In addition, their rivals are all excited to compete with them because they think it’s an honor to defeat the top-seeds and nothing to lose if they fail,” Vietnamese chess coach Lam Minh Chau said.

Grandmaster Yu Yangyi from China with 7 points won the championship title with a cash prize of $6,000 while his fellowman Wen Yang contented with the second prize of $4,000.

Meanwhile in the women single, Vietnamese chess player Nguyen Thi Mai Huong secured the top prize with 4.5 points after nine matches and was awarded cash prize of $600.

The organizers also awarded two “Promising Young Chess Player” prizes to Le Thanh Tai of Vietnam and Lu Shanglei of China.

The week-long tournament has attracted 30 Vietnamese players and 35 others from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Ukraine.

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