Sports
Foreign tourists to Việt Nam rose 41% in January-November
1.
 |
| Veteran tennis player Đỗ Minh Quân will compete for HCM City at the National Sports Games in Hà Nội. — Photo coutersy of the organisers. |
Viet Nam News
HÀ NỘI — The National Sports Games will kick off next week in Hà Nội.
The capital will welcome nearly 12,000 athletes to compete in 36 sports including football, track-and-field, swimming and martial arts.
While most of events will be held in Hà Nội, mountain bikers will head to Hoà Bình Province and volleyballers will take to the beach in Khánh Hoà.
A torch from the Hồ Chí Minh Museum yesterday was brought to Mỹ Đình Stadium which will host the opening ceremony on November 25.
The closing ceremony will be on December 10 at the National Athletics Palace.
Olympic gold medallist Hoàng Xuân Vinh will take charge of the torch relay and light up the venue.
"The opening ceremony will be a special event with traditional and modern aspects. I believe it will show the scale of the nation’s biggest competition and the efforts made by Hà Nội as the hosts," said Tô Văn Động, director of Hà Nội’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department.
"The eighth edition of the Games will be very competitive as it is the biggest ever. We will introduce doping tests for the first time for all medal winners to prevent cheating," said Trần Đức Phấn, deputy head of the Việt Nam Sports Administration.
Phấn said the Games were also an important step for competitors to gain national team places for international events and Hà Nội for hosting the 31st Southeast Asian Games in 2021.
At the seventh Games four years ago, Hà Nội topped the medal tally. — VNS
