SPORTS IN BRIEF 20/3

Hanoi top national swimming and diving championships

With 25 golds, Hanoi team ranked first at the National 25m Short Course Swimming and Diving Championships which concluded in Hanoi yesterday.

Six national record were broken in the swimming category. The Ho Chi Minh City team topped in this category with 17 golds, followed by Da Nang and Hanoi with nine and eight golds respectively.

In the total of 36 events of the diving category, 20 national record were set. Hanoi was on top with 17 golds, Da Nang stood second with three golds. Ho Chi Minh City only earned one gold in this category.

As a result, in the overall rankings, Hanoi took the lead with 25 golds, Ho Chi Minh City ranked second with 17 gold and Da Nang was in the third place with 13 golds.

National women’s football championship 2009 to attract 6 teams

The National Women’s Football Championship 2009 will kick off on March 24.

The tournament this year draws six teams including Hanoi, Hoa Hop-Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phong Phu Ha Nam, Thai Nguyen and Vietnam Coal and Minerals.

The teams will compete on a round robin basis. The first-leg will be held in Thai Nguyen from March 24 to April 11 and the second-leg will take place in Hanoi from April 18 to May 6.

The champions will receive a cup and a prize of VND 80 million while the runners-up and the third-place will get silvers and bronzes together with VND 60 million and VND 30 million respectively.

AFC Cup 2009: Binh Duong win first game

Vietnam's V-League defending champions Binh Duong won their first three points at the AFC Cup 2009 after having defeated Maldives' Valencia 3-0 yesterday.

Binh Duong's Luong Minh Trung helped his team take the lead in the 12th minute before Philani widened the gap with a powerful shot in the 34th minute.

Kesley set the score of 3-0 for Binh Duong in the 63rd minute.

This win helped Binh Duong regain their confidence after several unsuccessful matches at the V-League and the AFC Cup as well.

In another match in group H, Provincial Electrical Authority (Thailand) beat Home United (Singapore) 2-1.

In group G, Hanoi ACB, another representative from Vietnam, lost to hosts Eastern Athletic 0-3 at Mongkok stadium in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Thailand’s Chonburi had their 1-0 victory over Kedah from Malaysia.

VietNamNet/ND