ID :
147572
Tue, 10/26/2010 - 19:52
Auther :

Teenage trio will make their debut at the Asian Games

Hanoi (VNA) -- Teenage trio Nguyen Hoang Thien, Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen and Hoang Quy
Phuoc will make their debut at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China next month.

Swimmers Phuoc and Tuyen, two of Vietnam's top swimmers, have been training in
China in preparation for the biggest sporting event in Asia.

Prodigy Phuoc, 17, from Da Nang has sustained the form that helped him win a 100m
butterfly bronze medal in the Southeast Asian Games in Laos last year with a time
of 55.65sec.

"Phuoc has rapidly perfected his skills in training. He has knocked his personal
best time down to 54.71sec in his favourite 100m butterfly event," said Nguyen
Dang Ha, who coaches Phuoc at the national sports camp No 3 in Da Nang.

"However, the Asian Games will be tough for Phuoc as he will face top stars from
China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. I believe he will give a lifetime best
performance at the Guangzhou Asian Games," Ha added.

The Da Nang-born swimmer has an arm span of 1.98m, which helps him move quickly
through the water.

Meanwhile, Tuyen, 16, from HCM City also triumphed in the national championships
last year bagging 10 gold medals and breaking eight records.

"She is one of Vietnam's most talented swimmers. She wins gold almost every time
she gets into the water at the national championships. Tuyen is capable of
competing in the freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and medley relay,"
said the general secretary of the Vietnam Aquatic Sport Association, Dinh Viet
Hung.

"But Tuyen needs more competitions and tests before the Asian Games. A lack of big
games experience against strong opposition is her Achilles' heel but I hope she
overcomes that at the Games that start in two weeks time," Hung said.

The swimming events, with 38 medal sets up for grabs, will be held from November
13-18.

Nguyen Hoang Thien, 15, recently won two International Tennis Federation (ITF)
junior single's titles in a fortnight.

Thien triumphed in the boy's singles at the International Junior Championships in
Bac Lieu southern province, just a week before cruising to victory at the Vietnam
International Junior Championships in Binh Duong.

He has climbed from 497th in the ITF junior rankings to 338th since last year, and
he's looking to break into the top 200 in the world by the time he's 18.

"It's the first time he has been called to the national team to compete at the
Asian Games, but I'm not worried because he has already experienced numerous
international competitions," said Thien's father, Nguyen Hoang Minh.

"He still has his eye on ITF tournaments to boost his world ranking, which
hopefully will enable him to compete at a Grand Slam someday," Minh said.

Thien is expected to play one more tournament before flying to Guangzhou.

The tennis event will take place from November 13-23.

Vietnam has announced a 260-member squad to compete in 29 of the 42 events at the
16th festival from November 12-27. Vietnam hopes to finish in the top 15 out of
the 45 participating countries and territories.-Enditem








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