Cuong wins gold in three-string event

In the zone: Archer Nguyen Tien Cuong of Ha Noi takes aim at the National Archery Championship in Ha Noi yesterday. He brought home another gold in the men’s 70m compound (three-stringed bow). — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Truong

HA NOI — Nguyen Tien Cuong of Ha Noi brought home another gold in the men’s individual 70m compound (three-stringed bow) event at the National Archery Championship in Ha Noi yesterday.

Cuong’s team mates, Vu Viet Anh and Nguyen Thanh Tuan, finished second and third.

On Monday, Cuong broke his own national record in the men’s 50m compound when he scored 346 points to beat his old record, which he set at the same event last year, by three points.

On the women’s side, Hanoian archers dominated. Tran Nguyen Tieu Anh, who won two gold medals on Monday, grabbed another gold yesterday. Nguyen Thi Xuan Huong and Hoang Thi Phuong came in second and third. In the women’s 70m recurve (one-stringed bow) event, Nguyen Ngoc Thuy Vy of HCM City won gold in the 50m recurve event on Monday, took gold again yesterday. Phu Tho’s Nguyen Thi Thanh and Hanoian Duong Kim Lien took silver and bronze, respectively.

On the men’s side in the same event, Dao Trong Kien of Hai Phong won gold. Today, archers will compete in the mixed doubles in the 70m recurve and compound competition.

The championship, which attracts more than 80 archers from seven teams nationwide, is as a warm-up event for the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos this December. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Phuc wins 20km walking event

HCM CITY — National walker Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc of Da Nang won the women’s 20km walking event at the 2009 National Athletics Championships in HCM City yesterday.

Phuc, who holds the national record in the women’s 5,000m and 10,000m walking event, finished with the time of 1 hour, 52 minutes and 54 seconds.

Lai Thi Hoa of Thai Binh was second and Le Thi Gai of the Military third.

In the men’s 20km walking event, Nghe An Province ranked first, with Nguyen Ngoc Dung finishing in 1 hour, 41 minutes and nine seconds. Second place went to Dung’s teammate Nguyen Van Tu; Da Nang’s Nguyen Thanh Ngung took bronze.

The national record holder Pham Thi Hien of Thai Binh ran two hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds to take gold in the women’s marathon, while Nguyen Van Long of Gia Lai came in first in the men’s marathon event. In the competition the previous day, back-to-back SEA Games gold medalist Vu Van Huyen proved an unrivalled decathlon athlete when he finished first with 7,069 points, 671 more than the runner-up Nguyen Van Hue of Hai Duong.

The medium-distance runner Nguyen Dinh Cuong, who won gold in both men’s 800m and 1,500m events at SEA Games 2007 at Thailand’s Nakhorn Ratchasima, led the way in the men’s 800m event.

He led from the heat round to the final before attacking in the finish to surpass Mai Van Van of Thanh Hoa to take gold.

High jump specialist Bui Thi Nhung of Hai Phong City easily won gold when she cleared 1m86 while Bui Thi Hien also finished first in the women’s 5000m event.

Southeast Asia silver medalist Tran Van Thang of Dak Lak won the men’s 3000m steeplechase event, while Bui Thi Nhat Thanh of Da Nang jumped 6.1m to win the women’s long jump event.

Nam Dinh also won the first gold medal against Pham Thi Ngot in the women’s 800m event, while Vinh Long won the second gold medal off Tran Thi Tham in the women’s javelin event.

Khanh Hoa lost a gold medal when the relay men’s team violated the rule against throwing the baton to the ground after crossing the line, giving the Military team the gold medal. That win helped the Military stay on top of the medals’ count.

The Military also was stripped of a gold medal in the men’s 5000m event for breach of the rule, when a teammate illegally blocked a runner with the Khanh Hoa team.

Nearly 500 athletes from 50 provinces and cities are participating in the five-day competition, which began September 16. They are competing for 48 sets of medals. During the last competition, the Military won the most medals. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Denmark helps Vietnam develop event management skills

Hanoi (VNA) – The Danish Embassy, in conjunction with the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music are to host a Music Management training course from December 1-12 in a bid to help Vietnamese art managers to further their management skills in art development.

The course is part of the Vietnam – Denmark Development Cooperation in Culture Programme 2006 – 2010, according to a statement made by the Danish Embassy in Vietnam on November 17.

Participants in the course will receive an introduction to creative business design, planning and a host of decision-making tools necessary for event management. They will also become familiar with a range of analytical methodologies, the development of business plans, marketing and financial management, and tools for the quantitative evaluation of events.

The training course will feature course input from teachers and coordinators from the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, Denmark (RAMA) Denmark’s support to cultural development in Vietnam is based on strategy set out in the Danish Strategy for Development Cooperation 2006-2010 with Vietnam.

The strategy is aimed at promoting increased creativity, people’s access and participation as well as diversity in the Vietnamese society.-

HCM City to host hundreds for int’l gymnastics event

HA NOI — Over 100 athletes from six local teams and 24 from Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and the Philippines will compete in the Viet Nam Gymnastics Open, which take place at HCM City’s Lanh Binh Thang Gymnasium on August 28-29.

According to the organising committee, competitors will compete in gymnastics, artistics and aerobics events.

At the tournament, Vietnamese athletes will have a chance to hone their skills against fellow Southeast Asian opponents.

The Viet Nam Gymnastics Federation will invite international referees who are under the Asian Gymnastics Federation to supervise to competition.

The aerobics event will see athletes competing for medal sets in men’s and women’s singles, mixed doubles, trios and groups of six.

In gymnastics, male gymnasts will compete for individual, team and apparatus titles in floor exercise, vault, pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and high bars, while female gymnasts will compete in floor exercise, balance beam, uneven bars and vault disciplines.

Ribbon, ball, club and string artistic events is expected to be a tussle between Malaysia, Thailand and the hosts.

According to head of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training’s gymnastics section, Nguyen Kim Lan, gymnastics in Viet Nam is underfunded at the local level.

“Viet Nam is one the top countries in the Southeast Asia region, but we have problems recruiting gymnasts for the national squad,” said Kim Lan, coach of the national team because local sports departments are hesitant to fund the sport, as it would be costly and the athletes would not necessarily win medals in the near future.”

At the championships, the coaching board will recruit new faces for the national team to compete in international tournaments. —