Category: Sports

HCM City: The 44th spring flower festival kicked off at Tao Dan Park in Ho Chi Minh City on February 6 evening as part of the activities to welcome the Lunar New Year (Tet) – the biggest and oldest festival in Vietnam.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Duong Anh Duc stated that this event embodies the rich cultural heritage of the locality.

Initiated in 1981, the annual event offers a good chance for artisans and gardeners in and outside the country to exchange experiences and ideas, he said, adding that along with the Nguyen Hue Flower Street project, the festival has become one of the city’s iconic and traditional festival events of the southern metropolis every time Tet comes.

According to Duc, festive activities and landscape designs arranged within the festival are imbued with unique artistic flairs, meeting the entertainment demand of people and contributing to preserving the traditional cultural value of the nation’s traditional Tet holiday.

The fes
tival features a series of unique works, including a collection of yellow apricot trees with a 50-year-old tree from a collector from the Mekong Delta province of An Giang; an over-40-year apricot tree with a height of 3 metres from Thu Duc city; a plumeria flower collection with many big ones; and a collection of orchids, including a 200-flower-stem work called Kim Diep (Golden Butterfly).

Notably, the 10-day event introduces a solid wood sculpture in the shape of a map of Vietnam, which was made public for the first time. This work is part of a collection by artisan Nguyen Truong Tien from HCM City.

A wide range of other activities such as cultural and art programmes, and lion and dragon dancing performances, will also be organised in the framework of the festival, which will last until February 15 (the 6th day of the first lunar month)./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Vietnam’s top badminton player Nguyen Hai Dang has won the title of the 32nd Iran Fajr International Challenge after beating Indian seed No. 1 Karunakaran Sathish Kumar, who is now the world’s No 49.

This is the first international championship that the Vietnamese player, ranking 97th in the world, has earned in his career. Previously, Dang’s best achievement on the professional playground was being runner-up at the 2022 Croatia Open Badminton Tournament.

With the victory, Dang got 4,000 points on Road To Paris, ranking among 34 players who are likely to secure a berth in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. Now he has 20,870 points in total while Dmitriy Panarin, a Kazakh player, who ranked 34th on the ‘Road To Paris’ list with 20,310 points.

According to the regulations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the top 34 players on the list will win a slot in the Olympics.

Born in 2000 in Ho Chi Minh City, Dang won the national youth championship in 2011, 2017 and 2018. Before stepping onto the world
stage, Dang caused a domestic shock in early 2023. A slot in the second round of the Thailand International Challenge 2023 pushed him to place as the world’s No. 163, which made him the new national No 1. March 14, 2023 was a special day for Vietnamese badminton as Dang ended Nguyen Tien Minh’s 21-year dominance in Vietnam./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The ‘Tren ben duoi thuyen’ (On the Wharf – In the Boat) flower floating fair, one of the most-visited attractions in Ho Chi Minh City during Tet Festival, opened at Binh Dong Wharf, District 8 on February 4 (the 25th day of the 12th lunar month).

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairwoman of District 8 People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Thu Hoa said that the fair, among the 19 annual cultural and art festivals in the city, aims at creating a cultural space imbued with the local traditional and modern traits for visitors during Tet holiday.

A wide range of flowers, fruits and ornamental trees from Mekong Delta provinces, including Tien Giang, Dong Thap and Ben Tre, are on display at more than 600 stalls and boats.

A highlight of the fair is the red terracotta road arranged by the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long, which is renowned for its century-old brick and pottery villages. Meanwhile, florists from Da Lat city, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong shape up miniature landscapes with a ka
leidoscope of flowers.

Regional staples such as dragon fruits of Vinh Long province, Lai Vung tangerine and Cao Lanh mango of Dong Thap province, and novel fruits and vegetables from Da Lat city are also introduced at the fair.

Additionally, the fair features a zone where calligraphers offer calligraphic work for visitors, a space for Banh Tet (cylindrical sticky rice cake) making, along with performances of don ca tai tu (southern folk music) and lion-dragon dances./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: A Spring Book Street programme kicked off in Hanoi on February 5, inviting visitors to a wide range of activities from now through the Lunar New Year (Tet) holidays.

The annual event, held on the Hanoi Book Street by the People’s Committee of Hoan Kiem district, aims to encourage reading culture in the community and create a cultural space for local residents and tourists to enjoy at the start of the Year of the Dragon.

Aside from existing stores, more book stalls and an area of entertainment activities for children were also added to the street.

Coming to the programme, visitors can read and buy a number of the latest books, newspapers, and other types of publications, meet authors and receive their autographs, and join authors in discussions about various topics.

Visitors can learn about the art of calligraphy and writing Tet decoration couplets while children can paint pictures and take a turn at making traditional toys. A book reading space and an exhibition of folk paintings are available thro
ughout the event.

Performances of both traditional and modern singing and dancing, along with a children’s fashion show will also form part of the programme.

Besides, the organisers have opened mini games on the Hanoi Book Street fanpage on this occasion.

Book publishers and distributors are also holding different activities on their own and offering promotions to attract readers.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the Hoan Kiem People’s Committee Nguyen Quoc Hoan said the Spring Book Street event on the Hanoi Book Street has become a cultural activity and also an attractive destination in the capital city whenever Tet arrives. It also marks the start of reading encouragement activities in the city this year.

The programme is open from 8am to 10pm every day from now through February 14 (the fifth day of the Year of the Dragon)./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: A drone light show expected to set a Southeast Asian record is scheduled to take place by the side of Ho Tay (West Lake) in Hanoi on the eve of the Year of the Dragon on February 9.

The show, with the participation of 2,024 drones, will be organised by the People’s Committee of Tay Ho district, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam), and the Vietnam Public Bank (PVcomBank) in celebration of the New Year, the district Party Committee said.

It will officially take place at the Van Cao T-junction by the side of West Lake at 11:30pm on February 9. The audience can gather on Nguyen Dinh Thi and Trich Sai streets to enjoy the performance.

Shortly after that, high-altitude fireworks will be set off nearby from 0am to 0:15am on February 10, the first day of the Year of the Dragon.

People can watch the light show early at its final rehearsal at 9pm on February 7.

The event is set to feature the biggest number of drones for such a performance in Southeast Asia, to be accompanied with exclusively compo
sed music and screens for live broadcasting installed around West Lake, promising an unprecedentedly spectacular show for locals and visitors on the threshold of the Year of the Dragon, according to organisers./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Nguyen Thi Tam is expected to make her second Olympic appearance while Luu Diem Quynh hopes to make her debut at the largest global sporting event this summer.

Vietnam’s two highest potential boxers will seek their places at a World Qualification Tournament held from February 29-March 12 in Busto Arzizio, Italy.

Tam was the first female Vietnamese boxer to qualify for the Olympics at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Competing in the women’s 50kg class, Tam has been Vietnam’s most experienced international fighter, a remarkable achievement to bring home.

In 2023, Tam made a big bang when she took a silver at the world championship. Unfortunately, she did not qualify for the Olympics as the event was not recognised as a qualification.

“Tam is training hard with highest determination for the Italian event,” said head coach Nguyen Nhu Cuong.

“She is in her peak currently and confident with her preparation. However, we are working with high alert because it is the world qualifier which will gather all the str
ongest competitors. It will not be easy to secure a place.”

While Tam is a famous veteran, Quynh is a rising star of the national team after she won bronze at the 19th Asian Games last October in China.

Quynh did not receive much attention until the Hangzhou Games, where she took the only medal for Vietnam boxing.

Other fighters of Vietnam are 2023 SEA Games champion Ha Thi Linh in the women’s 60kg; 2022 Thailand Open winner Vo Thi Kim Anh in the women’s 54kg; and 2023 world championship participant Nguyen Thi Thanh Hao in the women’s 57kg.

After Italy, athletes will have their last chance at the second World Qualification Tournament from May 23-June 3 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Athletes are training in Hanoi under the support of Thai expert Tawan Mungphingklang who came back to Vietnam in late 2023.

In his eight years working in Hanoi from 2013, he helped Vietnamese boxing gain 2019 world championship bronze, 2017 Asian championship gold and a 2020 Olympic spot, along with golds at the 2015 and 2019 SEA Gam
es.

‘We have set specific goals for the qualifiers. Athletes are practicing hard under best conditions and their coaches make daily reports to us. It is all to help them get ready and have good results at the upcoming competitions,” said Dam Cong Dien of the Sports Authority of Vietnam’s Boxing Department.

As many as 50 athletes will qualify through the Italian tournament, including 22 women and 28 men.

Between 45 and 51 athletes (20-23 women and 25-28 men) will qualify through the Thai event.

At Paris 2024, a total of 248 boxers will compete, including 124 women and 124 men. Boxing competition will take between July 27 and August 10 in the Roland-Garros Stadium and the North Paris Arena./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Havana: The Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba has organised activities to celebrate the Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival 2024, offering overseas Vietnamese in the Caribbean country opportunities to experience Tet atmosphere despite living far from the motherland.

They together made ‘Chung’ cakes (square glutinous rice cakes), a typical dish for the Tet festival. Young Vietnamese people were told about Tet rituals and customs.

Hoang Kim Anh, First Secretary of the Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba, said overseas Vietnamese and students in Cuba have been excited about activities on the occasion of the Tet festival.

It is not easy to organise an event to make 200 “Chung” cakes for the Vietnamese community, she said, adding that the embassy staff have to make plans to buy and store pork, sticky rice and green beans which are shipped from Vietnam.

She added that they used wild banana leaves to wrap the cakes instead of ‘dong’ (phrynium) leaves.

Moreover, the activities also helped introduce and promote Vietnamese cultural val
ues to international friends./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency