Vietnamese badminton hot girl makes history; Hai Phong FC shares points with The Cong Viettel

Vietnamese badminton hot girl makes history

On the evening of March 2, Vietnamese badminton hot girl, Nguyen Thuy Linh, faced the second seed, Kim Ga Eun, in the semi-finals of the German Open. Thuy Linh entered the semi-finals of the 300-level tournament for the first time in her career. In the quarter-finals, Thuy Linh excellently defeated Thai player, Ratchanok Intanon.

Kim Ga Eun is ranked 13th in the world, while Thuy Linh is ranked 23rd. Kim Ga Eun won the 2022 ASIAD gold medal (women's team) and the 2023 Korea Open. In November 2023, this Korean player defeated Thuy Linh at the China Open. Therefore, this rematch is considered very difficult for the Vietnamese badminton hot girl.

In set 1, Thuy Linh played with great effort, fighting for every point with Kim. However, the Korean player won the first set 20-22. In set 2, Thuy Linh rose strongly to win 21-8.

The drama reached its climax in set 3. The Korean player took an early lead but was later caught up by Thuy Linh. Thuy Linh then pulled the score up to 19-16. In the end, Thuy Linh won 21-16 and secured the ticket to the next round with a score of 2-1.

With this victory, Thuy Linh entered the finals of the German Open for the first time. The opportunity to win a title at this major tournament has opened up for the Vietnamese tennis player as she has consecutive victories over opponents ranked higher than her. Thuy Linh is working hard to accumulate points with the goal of winning a ticket to the 2024 Olympics.

Hai Phong FC shares points with The Cong Viettel

On the evening of March 2, the matches of round 12 of V.League 2023-2024 took place. Hai Phong Club (Hai Phong FC) welcomed The Cong Viettel at home.

With home field advantage and a thirst for victory, Hai Phong players proactively pressed their opponents right after the opening whistle. The port city team quickly put goalkeeper Quang The Tai in dangerous situations with a series of diverse attacks.

However, the away team The Cong Viettel organized a very tight defense, making Hai Phong FC's goal in the first half unachievable.

In the 44th minute, in a quick attack, The Cong Viettel unexpectedly scored the opening goal. From the situation where goalkeeper Dinh Trieu blocked Khuat Van Khang's shot, causing the ball to bounce back, the away team's midfielder immediately crossed for Manh Cuong to easily shoot into the home team's net.

However, Hai Phong FC quickly had an answer. In the 45+1 minute, from the situation where Huu Son dribbled and shot near the bottom right wing, center back Bui Tien Dung, in an effort to participate in defense, accidentally put the ball into his own net, equalizing the score 1-1 before the end of the first half.

Entering the second half, refusing to accept a draw, coach Chu Dinh Nghiem's ​​students continued to put pressure. On the other side of the battle line, The Cong Viettel also showed their determination to win.

However, the second half was still a tight game and there were not many opportunities created by the players of both sides towards each other's goal. The two teams played evenly in the next 45 minutes and accepted the end of the match with a 1-1 draw.

In the remaining match, Thanh Hoa FC unexpectedly lost 1-2 to LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

4 gymnastics team coaches fired

Coaches Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Do Thi Ngan Thuong, Nguyen Ha Thanh and Nguyen Thuy Duong were fired from the national women's gymnastics team after admitting to collecting "waste" bonuses from athletes.

On March 1, the Department of Physical Training and Sports completed the report and sent it to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Responding to the media, Director of the Department of Physical Training and Sports Dang Ha Viet said that after verification, the collection of 10% of medal bonuses and 50% of bonus money from the coaches was true. The coaches admitted their wrongdoings and the Department of Physical Training and Sports disciplined them by dismissing coaches Nguyen Ha Thanh and Nguyen Thuy Duong from their coaching positions at the national women's gymnastics team.

Along with that, head coach Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy and coach Do Thi Ngan Thuong were similarly disciplined due to violations in management, timekeeping on Sundays and holidays, and violations in establishing illegal funds.

Thus, within its authority, the Department of Physical Education and Sports has stopped concentrating on the team with a total of 4 coaches, and at the same time assigned coach Phan Thi Ha Thanh to temporarily hold the role of head coach of the national women's gymnastics team. The case has not been closed because it is expected that the management unit of these coaches will continue to verify, clarify the accusations, and discipline (if any) the wrongdoings.

The scandal in the national women’s gymnastics team began with the revelations and accusations of former athlete Pham Nhu Phuong to the media. Immediately after that, the sports industry stepped in to verify and clarify.

Referee accused of robbing Real of victory

Early morning of March 3, at Valencia's Mestalla stadium, Real Madrid fielded a very strong lineup after key players recovered from injuries. Jude Bellingham, Rudiger and Vinicus Jr were all named in the starting lineup of "Los Blancos".

However, two shocking goals conceded in just three minutes put Real Madrid in trouble. In the 27th and 30th minutes, striker duo Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk scored to help Valencia unexpectedly take a 2-0 lead.

In the final minute of injury time of the first half (45+5), Vinicus Jr. rekindled Real's hopes of winning with a goal to reduce the score to 1-2. It was also the Brazilian striker who headed the ball close to the goal to equalize 2-2 in the 76th minute.

However, the drama and controversy of the match had only just begun. Valencia was denied a penalty when the referee reviewed VAR in stoppage time.

Immediately after that, Bellingham headed the ball into Valencia's net in the 90+9 minute, but the final score was still 2-2, because referee Jesus Gil Manzano blew the whistle to end the match a few seconds before the English midfielder's shot.

Real Madrid players surrounded La Liga's "king in black", demanding he explain clearly the goal's disallowance. The match's injury time was set at 7 minutes by the referee, but Mr. Jesus took at least nearly two minutes to check VAR and review the situation where the Valencia player fell in the penalty area earlier.

It is worth mentioning that Mr. Gil blew the whistle when the ball was still in play, at the moment when the Real player dribbled the ball and prepared to cross for Bellingham to score. Normally, referees will wait until the ball is out of play before blowing the whistle, especially when the extra time in this match is reasonable.

A disappointing draw at Valencia saw Real miss the chance to increase their lead over Girona. After 26 rounds, Los Blancos are six points ahead of second-placed La Liga.

Rooney wants to lead Man United or Everton

Speaking on BBC recently, former Man United striker Wayne Rooney said he will try to improve his coaching skills to lead Man United or Everton in the future.

In mid-2023, Wayne Rooney also shared: "My ambition is to one day coach a top club in Europe. When you are in that environment, you will work with very diverse teams and with elite experts from all over the world."

The 37-year-old former player also shared that the experience from MLS will help him a lot in the future when he seizes the opportunity to return to work in Europe.

“I found that I could really learn a lot here,” Rooney said.

“These experiences will help me a lot. For example, at DC United, I am used to working with players from many different countries, representing many different cultures, religions and stories.

I have experienced many challenges and learned many lessons here. And working in the MLS All-Star team, where there are the best people in this tournament, also helps me a lot," the former MU star added.