Thu suffers early defeat in taekwondo

HA NOI — Taekwondo medal hopeful Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu suffered an early defeat at her debut Olympic Games when she was beaten 1-0 in the women’s – 57kg featherweight opening match by Bineta Diedhiou of Senegal yesterday.

The Senegalese world bronze medallist was a tough open opponent for Thu, who was the unluckiest member of the Vietnamese team in the draw.

Thu’s teammate Tran Thi Ngoc Truc, also failed to find success in her first Olympics. She finished seventh on Wednesday despite a relatively easy draw.

However, the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games silver medallists put up a good performance against a tough opponent in the first two sets. Diedhiou only managed to score a winning point in the third.

Thu’s slim chance of winning the bronze ended when Diedhiou lost to Italian Veronica Celabrese in the quarter-finals later yesterday. Only if Diedhiou had made it through to the final would the Vietnamese have qualified to take part in the repechage for third place).

World No 5 Celabrese, who finished second in the Olympic world qualifiers, beat Colombian Doris Patino 2-0 earlier yesterday but later lost to South Korea’s Lim Su-jeong 5-1 in the semi-final after beating Diedhiou.

In her first match, Lim tamed 2005 world silver medallist Su Li-wen of Chinese Taipei 1-0. She went on to beat New Zealand’s Robbin Cheong 4-1 and then Calabrese to reach the final.

Viet Nam’s hopes of repeating Tran Hieu Ngan’s silver medal success at the Sydney Games eight years ago now rests with five-time SEA Games champion and the only male member of the team Nguyen Van Hung.

Hung, the country’s top taekwondo artist, however, has been drawn against a number of powerhouses, including defending champion Keita Daba Modibo, in the men’s +80kg.

The Athens Olympian, is also suffering a recurrence of a leg injury that flared up on Tuesday.

Hung will begin his medal quest today against 2.10m-tall Chukwumerije Chika Yagazie of Nigeria.

Sibling suffers defeat

American Mark Lopez breezed into the men’s featherweight final but his sister Diana stumbled out of the women’s last-four yesterday as the trio of US siblings launched their Olympic taekwondo gold hunt.

Lopez, 26, made it through to the final after trouncing Peter Lopez, a Pervuvian fighter of no relation and the 2001 world silver medallist, 3-1 in the semi-finals.

“With each fight, I’m getting better and better. Hopefully, the momentum will continue until the final,” he said. “I’ll just stay focused like in any other fights. I always give it my all.”

South Korean powerhouse Son Tae-jin just beat Chinese Taipei’s world champion Sung Yu-chi 7-6 when he landed a decisive kick to the body with 18 seconds left on the clock during the final third round. He had also defeated Turkey’s Servet Tazegul by a single point in the quarter-finals.

The eldest of the Lopez siblings, four-time world champion Steven, launches his campaign for a third straight Olympic gold today in the men’s -80kg welterweight division.

Diana’s loss to Tanrikulu set the stage for some inter-family rivalry.

The Turk’s older brother Bahri fights Steven in the -80kg first round hoping to avenge his loss to the American in the gold-medal fight in Athens four years ago.

The Lopez family are the first trio of siblings to represent the United States at the same Olympics in the same sport since the Tritschler brothers competed in gymnastics at the 1904 Games in St Louis.

Although none of the Tritschlers won a medal, the Lopez family have already struck gold together when they triumphed at the 2005 world championships to become the first three siblings in any sport to claim world titles at the same competition. — VNS/AFP

Military Zone 4 revel in First Division triumph

HA NOI — Jubilant Military Zone 4 players and coaches celebrated for their first ever champion after a 1-1 draw to Ha Noi T&T at Ha Noi’s My Dinh Stadium yesterday.

The draw was just enough for the Military team winning the National Football First Division Championship as they gain 54 points – three points ahead Ha Noi team after 26 games.

Military Zone 4 will be joined by Ha Noi T&T in the V-League next year.

In the match at away turf, the central Nghe An-based Military Zone 4 opened the score just 37 minutes into the game when Lazaro De Souza netted the ball from a penalty kick.

But Ha Noi team scored to draw the game in the last minute of the second half time as goalie Duong Hong Son took a spot kick to the back of net.

Military Zone 4, who are owned by Military Zone 4 Command, are expected to be awarded pay rises following their promotion. At the moment, the highest paid player earns just VND2 million (US$120) a month.

Dong Thap, who lost to Quang Ninh 6-5 yesterday, still rank third in First Division.

The southern team have a hope of taking a berth for premier V-League next year when they play-off against the team, who place third to last in V-League table.

Bottom team Military Zone 7, who suffered a 3-1 loss to Can Tho yesterday, relegated to Second Division along with Military Zone 5, who drew Tien Giang 1-1.

In other matches played yesterday, Tay Ninh edged Huda Hue 2-1; Vinakansai Ninh Binh beat Dong Nai 2-0 and An Giang lost Quang Ninh Coal 1-0. —

Vietnamese athletes head to Beijing Paralympics after capital fanfare

HA NOI — A ceremony will be held in Ha Noi today to send off Viet Nam’s squad of disabled athletes to the Beijing Paralympics.

The ceremony is traditionally held to boost athletes’ morale and bolster their confidence and energy before the biggest sports event for disabled athletes.

The Paralympics will officially open on September 6 and close 11 days later. About 4,000 athletes from 150 nations around the world will compete for 471 sets of medals in 20 events.

As scheduled, Viet Nam will send eight athletes to compete in the Summer Beijing Paralympics, said the Viet Nam Paralympics Association (VPA)’s general secretary and vice chairman, Vu The Phiet.

Among the squad of eight are weight-lifters Dinh Thi Nga and Le Van Cong, who had automatically secured entry into the Games. Six other athletes received byes thanks to successes at recent international competitions, particularly at the 4th ASEAN Para Games held in Thailand last December.

Nga grabbed the gold medal and set three consecutive new records with a final lift of 93kg in the women’s 52kg category at the ASEAN Para Games.

Meanwhile, Cong secured one gold and set one new record in the men’s 48kg category with a lift of 153kg.

Dang Anh Tuyet and Chau Hoang Tuyet Loan also have ASEAN Para Games gold medals and will compete in Beijing in the women’s weightlifting 40kg and 48kg classes respectively.

Also competing at Beijing is Hanoian sprinter Dao Van Cuong, who set a new Asian record in the men’s 400m for the blind event with a time of 55.15 seconds, which was 0.48 seconds faster than the previous record he set himself at the third ASEAN Para Games in the Philippines in 2005.

In Beijing, Cuong will race in the 100m, 200m and 400m events.

Triple gold-medal holder Le Thi Hai will compete in the women’s shot-put, javelin and discus throw.

Para Games champion Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao will test her skills in the women’s wheelchair races in the 100m, 200m and 400m events, while Nguyen Quang Vuong, the only swimmer, is hoping for a strong result in the men’s 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke events.

Viet Nam’s Paralympics squad has doubled twice in the last eight years. Four years ago, Viet Nam sent four athletes to the Athens Paralympics, up from a small squad of two sent to the Paralympic Games in Sydney in 2000. —