Sports News Headlines 31/3 U19 Vietnam to face strong rivals at regional champs Vietnam will play powerhouses Japan and Australia in the Group B of the ASEAN U19 Football Championships due to begin in Hanoi on September 5. Group A consists of Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar. Teams will compete in a round-robin format, with the two best teams from each group advancing to the semi-final rounds. Japan and Australia are the two squads that were invited by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). Vietnam lost 0-7 to Japan at an international tournament in Ho Chi Minh City in January 2014. Earlier they then defeated Australia 5-1 at the qualifying round of the Asian championship last October. The tournament will last until September 13. Bronze medal for Vietnamese gymnast at world tournament Vietnamese gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh on March 28 secured a bronze medal at the 7th FIG World Challenge Cup in Doha, Qatar. Ha Thanh, an outstanding athlete from the northern port city of Haiphong, earned 13,875 points, ranking third in the women’s balance beam event. The gold medal went to Monckton Mary Anne of Australia with 14,700 points, while Larisa Andreea of Romania garnered silver medal with 14,850 points. In the men’s parallel bars event, Dinh Phuong Thanh ranked 6th among eight competitors with 13,825 points. The gold medalist was Marcel Nguyen – a German-Vietnamese – and Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands, both earning 15,450 points. This year’s Challenge Cup in Doha from March 25-28 attracted the world’s most outstanding gymnasts. Vietnam sent five competitors to compete in both women’s and men’s events. Binh Duong overcomes odds to deliver win against Da Nang Becamex Binh Duong defeated SHB Da Nang 3-1 yesterday afternoon in the 10th round match of the V-League, breaking their bad luck at Chi Lang Stadium. Da Nang received the guests on their home turf with a weakened squad, as half-backs Phan Thanh Hung and Bojan Mamic had been suspended and captain Gasto Merlo had been injured. The only luck, however, they had looked forward to was the history between two teams. During the 11 matches they played against each other before, Da Nang beat Binh Duong six times and drew in another. At the match yesterday, Binh Duong showed that they were the real insiders and mounted dangerous attacks, even though Da Nang scored the opening goal, thanks to midfielder Valentic Adrian's penalty shot in the 20th minute. At the 6th minute, forward Abass Cheikh Dieng of Binh Duong missed the chance to open the match's scoring with a right pass by midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang. And that was all coach Le Huynh Duc's team could achieve. During the second half, Abass Cheikh Dieng, captain Nguyen Anh Duc, and midfielder Nguyen Tang Tuan scored three goals for Binh Duong to end the match 3-1. With the victory, coach Le Thuy Hai's team claims second place with 17 points, whilst Da Nang, with 12 points, is in 10th place. In another match yesterday, Thanh Hoa drew 1-1 with Hoang Anh Gia Lai in Pleiku Staidium in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai. The win helped Hoang Anh Gia Lai jump to the 8th position in the table, whilst Thanh Hoa maintained their top position with 23 points after nine undefeated matches. Women football remains 28th place on FIFA rankings Vietnam’s female footballers maintained their 28th position in the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA)’s latest ratings. On the FIFA rankings for the first quarter of 2014, Vietnam’s strong rival – Thailand – climbed two notches to 30th place thanks to their successful performance and championship title at the SEA Games 27. In Asia, the Vietnamese women football team was among the top six, standing behind Japan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Australia, China, and the Republic of Korea (RoK). The world’s top three remained unchanged - the US, Germany and Japan. It’s worth noting that UK football players went up three steps to rank 8th globally, while Australia was removed from the world’s top 10. The FIFA ratings on the second quarter will be released on June 20. Vodickova, Wild claim first place at Hue triathlon Czech Radka Vodickova finished first at the Laguna Lang Co – Triathlon for Women, while Swiss Ruedi Wild was first place winner among men. A total of 200 athletes from 28 countries and territories took part in the competitions, which included 1.8km swimming, 62km biking and 12km running races. The March 27-29 event was organised by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and Laguna Lang Co resort. Tien to compete in Sunchang tennis championships Rising tennis star Nguyen Dac Tien will be Viet Nam's sole representative at the Sunchang International Junior Championships in South Korea in April. The event will feature players from China, Kazakhstan, India, Thailand and Russia. The 14-year-old star won the boys' singles and doubles events at the ITF Asian U14 Championships-Division 2 in Viet Nam last year. Binh Duong overcomes odds to deliver win against Da Nang Becamex Binh Duong defeated SHB Da Nang 3-1 yesterday afternoon in the 10th round match of the V-League, breaking their bad luck at Chi Lang Stadium. Da Nang received the guests on their home turf with a weakened squad, as half-backs Phan Thanh Hung and Bojan Mamic had been suspended and captain Gasto Merlo had been injured. The only luck, however, they had looked forward to was the history between two teams. During the 11 matches they played against each other before, Da Nang beat Binh Duong six times and drew in another. At the match yesterday, Binh Duong showed that they were the real insiders and mounted dangerous attacks, even though Da Nang scored the opening goal, thanks to midfielder Valentic Adrian's penalty shot in the 20th minute. At the 6th minute, forward Abass Cheikh Dieng of Binh Duong missed the chance to open the match's scoring with a right pass by midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang. And that was all coach Le Huynh Duc's team could achieve. During the second half, Abass Cheikh Dieng, captain Nguyen Anh Duc, and midfielder Nguyen Tang Tuan scored three goals for Binh Duong to end the match 3-1. With the victory, coach Le Thuy Hai's team claims second place with 17 points, whilst Da Nang, with 12 points, is in 10th place. In another match yesterday, Thanh Hoa drew 1-1 with Hoang Anh Gia Lai in Pleiku Staidium in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai. The win helped Hoang Anh Gia Lai jump to the 8th position in the table, whilst Thanh Hoa maintained their top position with 23 points after nine undefeated matches. VNS/VNA/VOV