Culture - Sports

Despite their 2-3 loss to U19 Japan at the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Nuti Food U19 Cup in Hanoi on September 9, hosts U19 Vietnam delighted home fans with their impressive performance at My Dinh Stadium.

Vissai Ninh Binh FC's 1-0 win over Hong Kong league champions Leg Kitchee on the second leg match on August 26 could not help the Vietnamese Cup holders enter the semi-finals of AFC Cup 2014 due to their 2-4 loss in the first leg match.

A solitary goal by Van Son in the 71st minute helped U-19 Vietnam emerge as victors over U-19 Thailand on August 20 and progress into the final clash against U-19 Myanmar, which is scheduled for Augusts 23.

Vietnam's Ninh Binh FC face a high risk of exiting the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup after losing 2-4 to Kitchee of Hong Kong at home in the quarter-finals first leg on August 19.

The football team from Hai Phong city, Vincem Hai Phong, beat V-League 2014 winners Becamex Binh Duong 2-0 in an exciting match at Lach Tray Stadium in Hai Phong on August 17 to win the 2014 Vietnam National Cup.

U19 Vietnam have gotten off to a great start in the on-going Southeast Asian U22 Football Championship in Brunei by stunning the U21 Singapore side with a 4-0 victory on August 9.

Vietnamese chess players on August 3 scored second round wins over Monaco and Canada, at the 2014 Chess Olympiad ongoing in the Norwegian city of Tromso.

A street festival opened on August 2 in Quy Nhon City's central square on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, drawing the participation of about 600 martial artists and artisans.

Nguyen Anh Khoi, former world U10 championship won a gold medal at the blitz event in the U12 category at the Asian Youth Chess Championship held in Uzbekistan on June 28.

The women's national football team of Vietnam dropped five places to rank 33rd in the latest FIFA rankings.

Top Vietnamese chess player Le Quang Liem has been voted Blitz Player of the Year by the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) in its inaugural Asian Chess Excellence Awards, given for the top performances of 2013.

Nguyen Thi Anh Vien on June 8 set three new records at the ongoing 38th Southeast Asian Age Group Swimming Championships in Singapore.

Chau Le Tuyet Van on May 25 helped Vietnam win two gold medals in the team event at the Asian Taekwondo Championship taking place in Uzbekistan.

Two terrible mistakes from captain Le Thi Thuong and goalkeeper Dang Thi Kieu Trinh handed Thailand a 2-1 victory over the home team Vietnam in the fifth-place play-off match at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup on the night of May 21.

Striker Pham Van Quyen scored twice to help XM The Vissai Ninh Binh emerge as 4-2 victors against India's Churchill Brothers in the round of 16 on May 13 and dash into the quarterfinal round of the 2014 AFC Cup.

The Vietnam women's national football team are on the brink of making it through to the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup finals in Canada.

The Vietnam men's national football team maintained 116th place in the world and top position in Southeast Asia with 242 points, according to the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola ranking published on May 8.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has approved Vietnam's withdrawal from hosting the 18th Asian Games (ASIAD) in 2019 and will not impose any punishments on the Southeast Asian country, OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said.

Four goals by foreign and naturalised Vietnamese players helped National Cup holders XM The Vissai Ninh Binh emerge as 4-1 victors over Myanmar's Yangon United in their last Group G qualifiers of the AFC Cup 2014 on April 23.