Vietnam Women's Volleyball Team Enters Semifinals of ASIAD 2023 for First Time; National Youth Table Tennis Coach Fired After Controversy Over 'Cheating' on Athletes

Vietnam Women's Volleyball Team Enters Semifinals of ASIAD 2023 for the First Time

On the afternoon of October 4, after nearly 2 hours of competition in the Women's Volleyball Quarterfinals at the 19th Asian Games (ASIAD 2023) in Hangzhou (China), the Vietnamese team convincingly defeated their opponent North Korea 3-1 and for the first time in history won the right to enter the Women's Volleyball Semifinals of the ASIAD.

In an interview with the press after the match, coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet commented that in terms of technical skills, North Korea is not a weak team. In the first two halves, the Vietnamese team did a good job of breaking the opponent's first step, thereby helping the tactical strikers to run effectively.

However, in the third set, Vietnam's setters defended poorly, and North Korea used many tactical moves, so the Vietnamese players had to follow a lot and lost energy.

According to coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet, after 4 years, the Vietnamese team will meet North Korea again in an official tournament. The day before this match, the Vietnamese team had to travel to the stadium to watch the North Korean team play live because the team had no information about them.

Referring to the match against China on October 5, coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet affirmed that he will deploy a reasonable strategy. The Vietnamese Women's Volleyball Team will certainly not exert all their strength in this match to best prepare for the cross-match, which will directly affect the ability to compete for medals at the 19th ASIAD.

National youth table tennis coach fired after scandal of "cheating" athletes

On October 2, social media spread images of what was said to be the meals of the National Youth Table Tennis Team. The meal, which was said to cost VND800,000 (for 8 young athletes), consisted of only 5 plates of food, while the VND100,000 breakfast consisted of only a handful of sticky rice and a bottle of water. Along with that, the athletes also reported that they had to pay VND1-5 million per month to head coach Bui Xuan Ha, which also caused a stir in public opinion.

However, during a recent meeting with the Department of Physical Education and Sports, this coach affirmed that he did not collect money from the athletes but only kept and saved it for his students and then returned it at the end of the year.

On October 4, the Department of Physical Education and Sports decided to let two coaches Bui Xuan Ha and To Minh stop training the National Youth Table Tennis Team. Thus, the National Youth Table Tennis Team will have two new coaches. The Department of Physical Education and Sports summoned Mr. Vu Van Trung (Hanoi) as head coach and Mr. Vu Dinh Tuan (Hanoi National Sports Training Center) as coach of the National Youth Table Tennis Team.

According to the latest information, the leaders of the Department of Physical Education and Sports confirmed that they will hold a press conference to publicly and transparently announce information. The Vietnamese youth table tennis team has 12 members, including 10 athletes and 2 coaches, who are practicing at the My Dinh National Sports Complex (Hanoi). Immediately after the incident, the Department of Physical Education and Sports directed that the National Youth Table Tennis Team be transferred to the National Sports Training Center in Hanoi for training and accommodation.

Immediately after the incident was reported, the kitchen at My Dinh National Sports Complex (Hanoi) closed and temporarily stopped operating.

England and Ireland win the right to host EURO 2028

On October 4, the Dailymail news site reported that England and Ireland will win the right to host the EURO 2028 European Football Championship because competitor Türkiye has withdrawn from the race.

Analysts say Türkiye appears to be preparing for a joint bid with Italy to host EURO 2032. Meanwhile, England and Ireland have focused all their efforts on winning the right to host EURO 2028 after dropping their bid to host the 2030 World Cup.

According to plan, UEFA will officially announce the decision on the host country of EURO 2028 and EURO 2032 on October 10 in Switzerland.

Hanoi FC lost miserably in the Asian Champions League

On the afternoon of October 4, Hanoi FC suffered a crushing 0-6 defeat at home to defending champion Urawa Reds Diamonds, in the second match of Group J of the 2023/24 Asian Champions League.

Thus, after two matches of AFC Champions League this season, Hanoi Club lost all, scored 2 goals and conceded 10 times. The dream of passing the group stage is getting further and further away for the former V-League champion.

In the next round, Hanoi FC will visit Wuhan Three Towns (China) on October 24.

PSG lost 1-4 at Newcastle

Football results - PSG suffered a 1-4 defeat at Newcastle in the second match of Group F of the UEFA Champions League.

Goal

Newcastle: Almiron (17'), Burn (39'), Longstaff (50'), Schar (90+1')

PSG: Lucas Hernandez (56')./.