Cyclists to race to Phnom Penh

Cyclists from Laos, Cambodia and Thailand will take part in a four-day Viet Nam cycling race to Cambodia to mark the latter's New Year Festival in April.

The 600km race will start in HCM City and finish in Phnom Penh on New Year's day, which usually falls on April 13-14 at the end of the harvesting season.

The race, which is being co-organised by Viet Nam's People's Army Newspaper and the Viet Nam Cycling Federation, offers prizes totalling VND2 billion (US$100,000).

"It will be a good opportunity for Vietnamese athletes to hone their skills," said race organiser Do Nam Thang.

The organising committee will offer prizes to the overall yellow jersey (the best time rider); green jersey for the best stage finish athlete and white jersey, for the best young cyclist.

In 2004, the newspaper organised a 1,212km race from Ha Noi to Dien Bien Province to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Viet Nam's victory over French forces.

In 2006, a HCM City Television cycling race was held between HCM City and Laos.

Calisto to review Cup failure

Viet Nam Football Federation and Portuguese coach Henrique Calisto will meet to review the failure of the men's football team at the ASEAN Football Championship, AFF-Suzuki Cup last year.

The team, who won the regional event in 2008, were defeated 2-0 on aggregate by old rivals Malaysia in a two-leg semi-final.

Malaysia eventually went on to clinch the title after a 4-2 win over Indonesia in the final.

VFF's National Team Coaching Department will discuss with Calisto, who recently returned to Viet Nam after a holiday in Portugal, the team's performance at the AFF Cup, which was co-hosted by Viet Nam and Indonesia, and plan for the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 World Cup Qualifiers.

The 58-year-old took over the U-23 team and the national team at the same time as part of a three-year contract signed in 2008.

The national team also failed to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup, in Qatar.

Course targets golfing talents

A rules and umpire training course will be held at the Twin Doves Golf Club in the southern province of Binh Duong on March 15, announced the Viet Nam Golf Association (VGA) yesterday.

The course, the first of it's kind, will be co-organised by the VGA in conjunction with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) for Vietnamese golfers and umpires.

Lecturers from R&A will hold three short-course classes for Vietnamese trainees.

The VGA is developing a programme to identify talented young golfers in schools across the country from next year.

Adventure races at Cat Tien

The fourth edition of the Madagui Trophy will be held on March 5-6 at Cat Tien National Park.

Madagui Trophy is an adventure sport event with three different entrant levels: Adventure is for sport fans who are beginners to adventure racing; Extreme is for high level sportsmen and Ultra is for experienced racers only.

Athletes will learn to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and find their through adversity to reach the finish line, organisers said.

Entrants from China, the US, the UK, Switzerland, France, New Zealand, Singapore and Viet Nam will compete in the event.

For more information see www.vietadventure.vn. — VNS

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Exhibition focuses on ever-changing Indochina

A photo exhibition by French photographer Sebastien Laval, entitled
Communities Through Time, has opened at L'Espace, the French cultural
centre in Hanoi.

The black-and-white photos portray the life and
culture of people in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, as well as
Cambodia's Angkor Wat and Luang Prabang in Laos. Laval's treatment of
floating houses, flickering cooking fires, the innocent smiles of kids,
the austere expression on the face of an ethnic man, or a tobacco pipe
between a woman's lips, captures the enigma that endures in this region.

The
photos include portraits and depict both traditional customs and
changes in people's lives. Images in opposition, such as traditional
clothes and satellite dishes, old roofs and asphalt roads, reflect the
changes in the lives of the ethnic people. The images have no titles,
allowing the viewer to freely think, feel and discover the characters,
to "try to meet them, talk to them, look at them and understand them,"
Laval said.

"The way I take photos is not to tell people that I am taking photos," Laval said. "I make no arrangement for the images."

One
morning, Laval said he came to a Lao village and met a young girl
carrying her brother in front of her house. By the afternoon, she had
become acquainted with Laval, who was able to capture a photo of her
sitting on sand with a radiant smile.

"If I hadn't come closer to
her, I wouldn't have had that smile," he said. "I realised that people
still speak and have a mutual understanding even if they don't use the
same language."

Born in 1973, Laval discovered photography when
he was given a camera by his father. He moved to Paris to work as an
assistant for a photo studio in 1992 and subsequently began working as a
professional in Poitiers.

Laval visited Vietnam for the first
time in 1995 and has accumulated thousands of images of people in about
20 Vietnamese ethnic groups, which he intends to publish in a book.

The current exhibition runs through February 11 at L'Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, in Hanoi. /.

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Aggressive Zvonareva charges into Melbourne semis

Vera Zvonareva of Russia celebrates during her quarterfinal match against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 26, 2011

Photo: Reuters

Vera Zvonareva came a step closer to her maiden grand slam on Wednesday, muscling her way into the semifinals of the Australian Open with a 6-2 6-4 win over rangy Czech Petra Kvitova.

The Russian bullied the 20-year-old's serve with a fierce display of clean hitting from the baseline then weathered a late fight-back to close out the match in 75 minutes.

"She's (had) a great run here," Zvonareva said in a courtside interview of Kvitova, who knocked off seeds in her path to the quarterfinals but struggled to find her line against the Russian.

"I was just trying to hang in the there and fight for every point, just try to stay aggressive and that's about it."

The world number two mowed through the first set in 29 minutes and marched to a 3-0 lead in the second before Wimbledon semifinalist Kvitova snapped out of her stupor under leaden skies at Rod Laver Arena.

The sound of booming cannons fired as part of celebrations for the country's national holiday on Wednesday challenged the players' concentration, while what appeared to be an elderly spectator collapsing held up play for a couple of minutes.

Kvitova seemed to recover quickest from the distractions, breaking Zvonareva at 3-3 after a fierce baseline battle that ended with the Russian poking a forehand into the net.

"It was a bit of a difficult moment there... It was a little bit distracting," said Zvonareva, finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.

However, the 26-year-old held her nerve to break straight back then benefited from a net cord deflection at 5-4 that stopped the ball dead on Kvitova's side.

Kvitova, serving to stay in the match, scrambled forward to keep the ball in play, but Zvonareva calmly lobbed her to bring up match point and pumped her fists in celebration when the tiring Czech clubbed a forehand long to surrender.

Zvonareva will play the winner of Agnieszka Radwanska and Kim Clijsters for a place in the final.

Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic throws her racket during the women's quarterfinal match against Vera Zvonareva of Russia at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 26, 2011

Tet traditions honour Kitchen Gods

Vietnamese families on the 23 rd of the last month of the lunar year
are busy to stage a farewell ceremony for the Kitchen Gods (Tao Quan)
on their yearly visit of Heaven.

The Kitchen Gods,
the chief guardian spirit of the kitchen, are believed to comprise two
male gods and one female, who bless the household and keep up the
kitchen fire, making every member of the family happy and wealthy.

As the legend goes, the Kitchen Gods will ride carps to Heaven on the
day to deliver an annual report on the household’s activities to the God
of Heaven.

As Tao Quan makes their journey on the
back of fish, it is traditional to release live carps into lakes or
rivers, which is considered a kindhearted deed to pray for good luck.

On that day, people also burn paper clothing,
including hats, robes and boots, intended for use by Tao Quan on the
trip beyond.

After the Kitchen Gods go to Heaven,
Vietnamese normally tidy and decorate their houses to usher in the New
Year as they believe that a clean house represents a fresh star.

Although Vietnamese in regions across the country pay their homage to
Tao Quan in their own special ways, they remain important figures in the
rich texture of Vietnamese New Year.

Beliefs about
the Kitchen Gods have also changed over the year and a number of
Vietnamese families now welcome the ceremony earlier and use paper carps
instead of real offerings to suit the modern life.

The fire in the kitchen is the symbol of not only warm family union,
but also a bumper harvest and agricultural development of Vietnamese
people. The custom of worshipping the Kitchen Gods reflects Vietnamese’s
respect of family happiness as well as their fine tradition lifestyle
on the new year occasion./.

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Female ref to attend London Olympics

Two female Vietnamese referees have been assigned by FIFA to officiate in the preliminary round of football for the London Olympics, the Viet Nam Football Federation announced yesterday.

Mai Hoang Trang of HCM City and assistant Kieu Thi Thuy of Ha Noi will be in charge of the women's qualifiers next year.

Trang and Thuy were approved by FIFA in 2007.

Viet Nam has three FIFA accredited female referees and two assistants.

Last year, FIFA also called up four male referees – Vo Minh Tri, Phung Dinh Dung, Nguyen Ngoc Ha and Nguyen Hoang Minh – to officiate over two men's qualifiers.

The federation has also submitted Vo Quang Vinh of Khanh Hoa and Hoang Anh Tuan from Ha Noi to FIFA for approval this year.

FIFA regulations state that member countries should nominate 20 men as qualified referees or linesmen each year, but Viet Nam presently lacks qualified personnel.

After match fixing scandals rocked the nation in 2007, around 40 referees and officials were suspended pending a police investigation.

Volleyball Federation to get new head

The Volleyball Federation of Viet Nam (VFV) will appoint a new general secretary for the next five-year term, the federation announced at a recent press conference.

Current VFV general secretary, Tran Duc Phan who was assigned as head of the national sports administration's elite sport department last year, decided to withdraw from the federation after an executive board meeting last week.

At the meeting, the VFV also agreed to hire a foreign coach for the men's national team, and host the Asian Women's Clubs Championship on May 15-25.

Volleyball was the second sport, after football, to become professionalised four years ago.

Thien anticipates Auckland progress

Teenager Nguyen Hoang Thien will compete in the Auckland 18 and Under ITF Summer Championship from January 31 to February 5.

Thien, 16, who became the first ever Vietnamese player at the Australian Open Junior Championship last week, will spend Tet (Lunar New Year) in New Zealand in preparation for the event.

The HCM City boy, who has gained 40 singles wins, is hopeful of reaching the International Tennis Federation's top 100 junior ranking within the next two years.

He moved up 10 places from 232nd to 222nd in the ITF's ranking this month. — VNS

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Photos a unique documentary of Giong festival

A unique exhibition displaying veteran
photographer Van Tho's collection of 100 photos of the Giong Festival
has opened at the Phu Dong Temple, in Gia Lam district on the
outskirts of Hanoi.

The photos document the dances
and worshipping ceremonies as well as the domestic and foreign officials
that attend the festival and even the festival preparations.

All of the photos are in colour except for the artist's first image taken in 1970.

"I cannot count the number of photographs I've taken of the annual
festival," Tho said since 1970, "I have selected the 100 best as my gift
to celebrate the recognition of the festival as an intangible cultural
heritage by UNESCO."

The artist was born in 1943 in Phu
Dong Village himself. At the age of seven, he played a soldier in
Saint Giong's 90-soldier team in the festival. He recalled falling into
the pond in front of the temple and racing home to dry his clothes so
that he could finish his role in the event.

"Taking part in the festival is a great honour," he said, "That's why the villagers have happily made contributions."

After the exhibition, Tho plans to build a house in which to store his works and memories of the festival.

"If the project is approved [by local authorities], I will select
quintessential photos of the festival by many photographers for
display," Tho said.

"The exhibits may also include small
models of objects used at the festival so that visitors to the temple
can learn how the festival is organised, what it symbolises and what
activities take place. They can also practise the traditional dances if
they want."

A ceremony was held at the temple on Jan.22 by
the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Hanoi Municipal
People's Committee and the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO to
bestow the UNESCO Certification recognising the Saint Giong Festival as a
world intangible heritage.

The festival was the third
element of Hanoi's heritage recognised by UNESCO in last year, joining
the 82 doctoral stone steles in the Temple of Literature and
relics of the Thang Long Royal Citadel.

The festival is
dedicated to Saint Giong, born in Phu Dong village in the reign
of King Hung VI. According to legend, he was a man of great strength who
fought the northern invaders. After his victory, he flew back to heaven
on his iron horse over Soc Mountain, which locates in today's Soc
Son district.

There are many festivals held in the
northern region to honour Saint Giong. The most popular are the ones in
Phu Dong Village in Gia Lam district and Soc village in Soc
Son district.

The event in Phu Dong is annually held on
the ninth day of the fourth lunar month and in Soc Son, on the sixth day
of the first lunar month./.

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Federer, China’s Li through to Melbourne semifinals

Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a shot during his men's quarterfinal match against compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 25, 2011

Photo: Reuters

Roger Federer flattened his close buddy Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1 6-3 6-3 while in the women’s division, Li Na of China also advanced to the Australian Open semifinal on Tuesday.

Defending champion Federer, the Melbourne second seed, overpowered Wawrinka in an hour and 47 minutes in the first grand slam quarter-final contested by two Swiss men.

Ripping winners from all angles, Federer tore through the first set in just 29 minutes before seizing complete control by adding the second with a looping backhand.

Master broke apprentice again at the start of the third before sealing victory with another vicious backhand, which was too hot for his dazed opponent to handle.

Federer, bidding to extend his record haul of grand slam titles to 17, faces either third seed Novak Djokovic or number six Tomas Berdych in the last four.

Li Na recovered from early stumbles in both sets before blowing away German Andrea Petkovic 6-2 6-4 with a ruthless barrage of clean hitting to storm into her second successive Australian Open semifinal.

 

Li Na of China celebrates during her match against Andrea Petkovic of Germany at the women's quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 25, 2011

Li, her country's first top-10 player, was broken in the first game of each set but attacked the German's serve furiously to close out the match in 80 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.

Petkovic appeared nervous on her grand slam quarterfinal debut and sprayed two forehands to concede the first set.

Serving to stay in the match in the second, Petkovic slapped a forehand long to hand her Chinese opponent victory, Li celebrating the win by yelping "Yeah!" and grinning at her husband and coach Jiang Shan in the stands.

Li will play either top seed Caroline Wozniacki or Francesca Schiavone for a place in the final.

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