Handball tourney starts in Ha Noi
HCM City played hosts Ha Noi at the National Handball Championship men's opening match at Thanh Tri Gymnasium yesterday.
For the opening women's match, Binh Dinh met HCM City while Ha Giang tested the Hanoian squad on the opening day.
Teams from HCM City, Binh Dinh, Ha Giang and Ha Noi will compete at the five-day round robin championship.
Handball is an Olympic event, but it is not popular among Southeast Asian countries. The sport is not an official event at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
"Most local teams hesitate to invest in handball because athletes have few opportunities to compete in big games," said the head of the National Sports Administration's handball department Dao Duc Kien. "The sport needs big and long-term investment."
Chung agrees to Navibank contract
Coach Mai Duc Chung has agreed to extend his contract with HCM City's Navibank Sai Gon football club to 2012.
Chung who revealed that he would resign after a poor season with the team was persuaded by Navibank's chairman Nguyen Vinh Tho to continue in his role.
Chung is still regarded as one of the most successful coaches in Viet Nam when he guided Becamex Binh Duong, his former team, to the semi-finals of the Asian Football Confederation Cup in 2008, the best achievement of Vietnamese club yet on a regional level.
The Hanoian is expected to coach his team to a better finish next season. Navibank won 2-0 on Saturday against Quang Ninh in the play-off match to avoid relegation.
Woman weightlifter Thiet retires
Nguyen Thi Thiet has decided to retire from international competition after her ten years of top-level weightlifting.
The Olympian had to end her career due to a serious knee injury which has plagued her for half a year.
In her career, Thiet was unrivalled in national competition in the women's 63kg category. She also saw triumph at the Southeast Asian Games, and three silver medals at the Asian championship in 2008 prior to competing in the Beijing Olympics.
She said she was sad at having to make the decision, but there was no other option, and consoled herself with the fact that she had amassed an impressive career and now was the time for younger athletes to take her place. — VNS