Sports News Headlines 27/3 U19 Viet Nam loses to U21 Lierse S.K. The U19 Viet Nam team lost to U21 Lierse S.K. 3-1 in a friendly match during their European tour in Belgium, yesterday. Van Toan scored the only goal for the Vietnamese side in the 70th minute. Today, the team will meet players from the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy, USA. The team beat Arsenal 3-0, drew with Wimbledon 2-2, lost to Tottenham Hotspur 9-0, and Birmingham 2-4 in the UK. After Belgium, they will play other friendly matches in the Netherlands before returning to Viet Nam late next month Minh advances to second round of Hanoi Challenge The No 1 seed, Nguyen Tien Minh advanced to the second round of the Ciputra Hanoi – Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge yesterday in the capital city's Cau Giay Gymnasium. The Vietnamese world No 10 took just 48 minutes to beat Malaysian Vincent Cheng Wei Phuah 21-13, 21-11. His next rival will be Ginting Anthony of Indonesia who defeated Vipul Saini of India 21-12, 21-12. The first day of competition also saw most of the seeded athletes earning victories, except the No 16 seed, Pham Cao Cuong of Viet Nam. June Wei Chiem of Malaysia surprised everyone in the afternoon with a perfect victory over Cuong 21-17, 21-13 in just 45 minutes. The No 3 seed, Tzu Wei Wang from Chinese Taipei beat Thailand's Tankmanustong Warut 21-11, 21-7. Another Chinese Taipei player, Chia-hsin Wan, sent Malaysian Winson Neo packing home after a 21-10, 21-19 defeat. Other Vietnamese players who will be part of the second round are Nguyen Dinh Tuan Kiet, Le Ha Anh, Do Tuan Duc, Nguyen Hoang Nam, and qualifiers Truong Thanh Long and Vo Bao Thien. On the women's side, two local seeds, Le Thu Huyen, No 3 and Vu Thi Trang, No 4, also grabbed their berths. Huyen battled from behind to win 11-21, 21-15, 21-11 over Zii Yii Lee of Malaysia. Meanwhile, Trang faced no difficulty to trounce Taipei's Wen Chi Hsu 21-14, 21-13. The biggest surprise of the day came from Phasita Wathanayomnaporn of Thailand. She defeated No 1 seed, Chia Hsin Lee of Taipei in a crucial match that ended 21-18, 12-21, 21-12. The annual Ciputra Hanoi Challenge has lured nearly 300 athletes of 13 teams competing in five categories: singles and doubles matches for men and women and mixed doubles. The event, endorsed by the Badminton World Federation and Badminton Asia Confederation, will conclude on Sunday. The winners will walk away with up to 4,000 points that will help in improving their world rankings. Last year, Malaysian Kwong Beng Chan and Hana Ramadhini of Singapore took the men's and women's singles titles. Badminton fans can watch the matches for free at the stadium. The matches will also be aired live on local television channels. Chess masters gather for national competition The 2014 National First Division Chess Championships officially kicked off in Da Lat, Lam Dong province on March 26, bringing together 64 male and female chess masters from across the country. Despite the absence of top Vietnamese chess stars Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, the weeklong event is expected to provide chess fans with compelling clashes between many of the nation’s top players such as Dao Thien Hai, Nguyen Duc Hoa, Pham Le Thao Nguyen, Hoang Thi Bao Tram and Nguyen Thi Thanh An. With an elo rating of 2508, Dao Thien Hai of Ho Chi Minh City has been seeded number one on the men’s side, while Pham Le Thao Nguyen, rated 2349, was named the top seed in the women’s division. Most of the strong players were victorious today in the first round of play, with Thien Hai beating teammate Tu Hoang Thai, and defending men’s champion Nguyen Duc Hoa of Kien Giang defeating Hoang Van Ngoc from the Army team. On the women’s side, popular names Pham Le Thao Nguyen, Hoang Thi Bao Tram and Hoang Thi Nhu Y earned their first wins. However, Le Kieu Thien Kim and Nguyen Thi Thanh An, both from HCM City, lost points unexpectedly to opponents ranked much lower than themselves. The annual event is a good opportunity to select outstanding players for the national chess teams in preparation for upcoming regional and world competitions. Source: ND/VNA/VNS