Thanh wins gold at Toyota Cup
Phan Thi Ha Thanh earned another gold medal for her collection at the international gymnastics tournament, Toyota Cup, in Tokyo over the weekend.
The Hai Phong City-born woman pocketed 14,300 points in the women’s vault event to top the podium, leaving behind runner-up Rie Tanaka of Japan with 13,275 points.
Third-placed athlete, Anja Rheinbay of Germany, grabbed 12,387 points.
Thanh already won an official ticket to next year’s summer Olympics after a bronze medal in the vault at the world championships two months ago in Tokyo.
She is expected to be in the top eight in London this August
Later, Viet Nam also won a silver medal by Pham Phuoc Hung in the men’s vault event.
Xiangqi masters advance in China
Two Vietnamese representatives have won their first games in xiangqi (Chinese chess), on Sunday, the third day of the ongoing SportAccord World Mind Games in China.
Nguyen Hoang Lam beat Zheng Xi Ming of Canada. He remains in the men’s second-placed group with three points, along with Woo Tsung Han Alvin from Singapore and Wong Hok Him Vincent from Hong Kong.
In the women’s round-robin competition, Asian champion Ngo Lan Huong beat Take Aki of the US, while the host master Jin Hai Ying defeated Australian Liu Bi Jun.
In other activities of the Games, international grandmaster Le Quang Liem finished 14th out of 16 in the rapid chess event. Liem earned 2.5 points from seven games after one win, three draws and three losses.
Chinese player Wang Hao took the top with 5.5 points.
The festival, including bridge, chess, draughts, go and xiangqi, focuses on the gymnasium of the mind and highlighting the great value of the mind sports. The players take part in the event at the invitation of the organising board. The event will end on Friday.
Saigon football club aims for the top
The Saigon Football Club (Saigon FC) made its debut last night at the Municipal Theater saying it targets a top three spot in the nation’s premier football championships, the V-League.
Saigon FC is the name of newly-promoted Sai Gon Xuan Thanh after Viet Nam Football Media (VFM) became the major shareholder of the club.
Sai Gon Xuan Thanh, previously known as Military Zone 4 Club, won the First Division this year to be promoted to the V-League 2012.
In spite of being a newcomer, the leaders of the clubs have set themselves the ambitious goal of entering top three in its very first season.
The team, coached by Lu Dinh Tuan, has a new red and white kit. They will also launch its television channel, Saigon FC TV, on January 1, 2012, providing updated information, exclusive interviews, commentaries, and other features. — VNS