Olympics sports events

Hanoi-Musical to mark Vietnam-Switzerland ties

Apr 16 & 17

Hanoi’s L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street

Featuring “L’Histoire du soldat” (the Soldier’s Tale), a classic musical by French-Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and Swiss writer Charles Ferdinand Ramuz.

French musical ‘Les Misérables’ tours

Mid-April – June

April 16-18, Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien Street,  Hanoi

May, National Dance and Music Festival, Dak Lak Province

Early June, Ho Chi Minh City

Hanoi- Events honouring cultures of Vietnamese ethnic groups

Through out April

Hanoi-Exhibition: Those who do not move, do not notice their chains

Hanoi-‘Virtual Private Realms’ Exhibition

Binh Dinh Province-Exhibition: ECO-SUS

International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education, 7 Science Avenue, Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province

HCMC- Exhibitions: ‘Within / Between / Beneath / Upon’ & ‘Home: Looking inwards to the outer world’

Until Jun 6, 10 am – 07 pm

Dtinews/Hanoigrapevines

A recent ultra marathon held in a small Ho Chi Minh City neighborhood has brought a lot of attention to the sport’s growing popularity in the southern metropolis.

The 3rd Ultra Night Marathon is an annual ultra marathon with 30km, 50km, and 80km options organized by the Run For Fun (RFF) Club in District 7’s Phu My Hung New Urban Area.

This latest event began at 8:00 pm on December 29 and ended at 8:00 am the following morning.

All of the event’s 127 slots were filled within 48 hours from when registration opened, according to Do Thanh Vi Ngan, RFF’s president.

“We couldn’t allow more runners to participate because it had already been very difficult to get an official permit for the event approved by local authorities,” Ngan elaborated.

“We had to explain to the Phy My Hung management board that the race was only meant for passionate runners.”

On race night, as participants from several of the city’s running clubs, including Vietrun, SBR, PTR, and “Chay Nhu Rua” (Run Like a Tortoise) lined up at the starting line of the 1.9 kilometer course in Nam Vien Park eager to begin their first of dozens of laps, a feeling of community became contagious.

Originally the marathon was organized as a friendly event to say farewell to an RFF member, Ngan recalled.

“Running at night is really fun and can be addictive,” the club president remarked.

That realization led RFF to decide to host the event on an annual basis.

Nguyen Van Long, a member of VietRun Club, not only won the 80km race but chose to run until he chalked up 102km, besting his own goal of 100km.

A young boy participates in the run. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Do Thi Nguyen, another VietRun member, was the event’s best female runner.

Several participants made the trip from nearby provinces to participate in the fun.

Phuc, a member of RFF Bien Hoa in Dong Nai Province, about 35 kilometers northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, is one such runner.

He said his family used to think he was ‘possessed by the Devil’ because he spends so much of his free time running. At one point he was so addicted to pounding the sidewalk that his wife burned his running shoes.

“Not many people run in Bien Hoa. Everyone thought there was something strange about me,” Phuc explained.

According to Hanh Linh, a full-time bank employee by day and RFF media guru by night, the club has ties with 18 other running clubs in the southern metropolis, and several more throughout the rest of the country.

“That’s why we had such diverse groups of participants for the event,” Linh stated.

Runners did not have to pay a fee, Linh continued, adding that the only requisite was that they signed up with two other friends.

“We were able to raise tens of millions of dong [VND10 million = US$430] from sponsors and donated all of the money to a children’s heart surgery fund,” Ngan said.

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Trần Văn Thảo (left) punches Uzbekistan’s Shermatov Ravshanbek in a match during the Trigger Championship 11 tournament on March 20 in HCM City. Photo webthethao.vn.

HÀ NỘI — Trần Văn Thảo is on verge of being the first Vietnamese athlete to take an International Boxing Association (IBA) bantamweight belt.

The former World Boxing Council Asia champion will fight Tanzanian Fadhili Majiha at the Trigger Boxing Club in HCM City on July 18 and a win would be a remarkable milestone for Vietnamese boxing.

“Being the first one ever to wear the IBA belt would not only be meaningful to Thảo and me but also Việt Nam,” said coach Trịnh Văn Trí.

“We are the Vietnamese who put the first brick in the formation of professional boxing in Việt Nam. We always hope to popularise our boxing ability in the world. While I am researching information, Thảo trains and realises our dreams.

“The IBA match will be a good opportunity for us to make a dream come true. We are working very hard to prepare for it,” he said.

Thảo is training eight hours per day and following a strict nutrition and gym schedule to prepare for the fight.

The fight is set to be the toughest yet for Thao, who turns 28 in 10 days.

Majiha is a year younger than Thảo but has fought 44 matches in which he won 26 (with 12 KOs), drew four and lost 14. The world No 73’s best result was a title at the World Boxing Association Pan African in 2018.

Thảo has been in the ring 14 times with 13 wins (seven KOs) and one loss, and is world No 87.

Thảo’s only defeat was to Australian Billy Dib at the match for the World Boxing Council Australasian title in December 2019, after 10 rounds.

“Fadhili Majiha is a young but experienced and brave puncher. He has gone through a lot of big fights in his career. Therefore, to make sure of a positive result, we have to prepare carefully in all fields of strength, technique and strategy. It is a very prestigious belt, we will do our best to keep it home,” said coach Trí.

As one of the activities for the big event, Thảo defeated Uzbekistan’s Shermatov Ravshanbek in a bout during the Trigger Championship 11 tournament on March 20.

He will have two more fights in the coming weeks.

“I want to perfect my technique to be ready for any challenge, and am doing it step by step,” said Thảo.

“After the WBC Asia title, I am looking toward a higher target, the world title. In case of winning the IBA belt, it would be a big step in the career of my coach and me.

“I have missed the ring a lot after months of being kind of sidelined due to COVID-19. I am now full of energy and ready to explode at any time. I hope I can secure the second title, the biggest task in 2021,” he said.

Thảo made his name internationally after defeating Indonesian George Lumoly to become the first Vietnamese boxer to win the WBC Asia title in November 2017.

But he couldn’t compete in the 2018 WBC championship after an injury sustained due to a traffic accident and the organisers stripped him of the title. VNS

West Brom, who beat Chelsea 5-2 last weekend, have won back-to-back games for the first time this season and the 19th-placed side are within eight points of the safety zone with seven games to go.

* Sevilla twice came from behind to claim a 4-3 win at Celta Vigo in a chaotic La Liga game on Monday to keep their slim hopes of a title push alive.

* Barcelona have leapfrogged Spanish rivals Real Madrid to become the world’s most valuable football club with a valuation of US$4.76 billion, according to a list published by business magazine Forbes on Monday. Real Madrid, who have topped the list five times in the past, edged Barcelona 2-1 in ‘El Clasico’ on Saturday but find themselves second best off the pitch with a valuation of US$4.75 billion.

* Aston Villa winger Trezeguet faces a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury that requires surgery, the Premier League club said on Monday (Apr 12). The 26-year-old Egypt international, who has made 21 appearances in all competitions this season, suffered ligament damage in Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at Liverpool.

* Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Pedro Neto will miss the remainder of the season after sustaining a knee injury, the Premier League club said on Monday (Apr 12). Neto, who has scored five goals and provided five assists in 35 appearances in all competitions, was withdrawn in the first half of Friday’s 1-0 win at Fulham and will undergo surgery later this week.

* This year’s Davis Cup Finals will be staged in three cities with Turin and Innsbruck added as co-hosts with Madrid, the International Tennis Federation announced on Monday. The men’s team event will also be played over 11 days rather than seven after changes ratified by the ITF Board and partner Kosmos Tennis, the Spanish-based investment firm who are ploughing US$3 billion into the sport over 25 years.

Speaking at the event, Director of the State Records and Archives Department Dang Thanh Tung said following the establishment of diplomatic ties, Vietnam and former Soviet signed a number of cooperation agreements, treaties and conventions in the fields of economy, trade, culture, education, science-technology and army, including aviation and astronautics.

The 130-page publication is a joint effort between the State Records and Archives Department and the Federal Archival Agency of Russia. It features outstanding documents and photos chosen by the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, the State Records And Archives Management Department’s National Archives Centre III, Vietnam News Agency and astronaut Pham Tuan.

Its Russian version was published last year.