Bonuses for athletes winning medals at SEA Games 31; Coach Polking declares determination to win against Vietnam

Beating Singapore 5-0, Coach Polking declared his determination to win against U23 Vietnam in the semi-finals

After the match where U23 Thailand beat Singapore 5-0, Coach Polking said he always aimed to win the SEA Games 31 gold medal and was determined to win if they met.U23 Vietnamin the semi-finals.

Coach Polking said: “In football, we cannot choose our opponents. We need to pass the qualifying round and then consider the semi-finals. I think if we want to win the championship, we have to fight against all opponents. We always want to win against all opponents. Whether it is Vietnam, Indonesia or the Philippines, we are determined to win. U23 Thailand must progress immediately and improve their skills, thereby making more progress in the future.”

Coach Alexandre Polking of Thailand U23 at the press conference. Photo: Van Dat/VNA

In the match against Singapore, Coach Polking became the center of attention for arguing with the referee. Mr. Polking wore a black shirt that matched the referee's color, so he was asked to wear a bib. However, the Thai U23 coach was upset and even walked into the training area. The assistant referee contacted the main referee and asked Mr. Polking to wear a bib.

Billionaire Nualphan Lamsam tried to stop Mr. Polking so that the match could continue. The head of the Thai U23 team continuously made impressive moves to reconcile, before that she took the initiative to give Mr. Polking her bib.

Coach Polking explained that the referee asked him to wear a bib because of the color of the shirt. However, Coach Polking himself felt that there was no problem and he had the right to choose the color of the shirt.

In addition, coach Polking said that U23 Thailand did not have much time to prepare for SEA Games 31. Thailand lacked the best players because some clubs did not return their players.

After two matches, Thailand has three points and is temporarily leading Group B. Cambodia is second, while Malaysia is third. Laos and Singapore share the last two positions.

How much is the bonus for athletes winning medals at SEA Games 31?

Head of the Vietnamese delegation attendingSEA Games 31, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training Tran Duc Phan signed a notice of the bonus plan for athletes who won medals at the 31st SEA Games. Accordingly, the "hot" bonus for athletes who won medals at the 31st SEA Games has three levels: 3 million, 5 million and 10 million corresponding to the Bronze Medal, Silver Medal and Gold Medal.

This is considered a timely form of reward to encourage athletes during the competition, helping athletes have higher determination.

Up to now, 3 athletes have received bonuses: Ngo Phuong Mai (Bronze Medal) in the Women's Singles Springboard 1m event and the couple Nguyen Tung Duong and Phuong The Anh (Silver Medal) in the Men's Doubles Springboard 3m event.

The "hot" bonus for athletes winning medals at SEA Games 31 has three levels: 3 million, 5 million and 10 million.

Vietnam beach handball touches SEA Games gold medal

The Vietnamese men's beach handball team extended their winning streak to four after defeating Singapore 2-0 in the second leg on the afternoon of May 9.

The Vietnamese beach handball team continued to complete their goal of gaining 2 points against the Singapore team when they won with the scores of 20-8 and 17-14 amid the cheers of fans at Tuan Chau (Quang Ninh).

The Vietnamese players took an early lead after a beautiful throw in front of the goal. The home team's throwers took a 7-0 lead as Singapore was caught out in their combinations.

Vietnam beach handball team asserts its strength at SEA Games. Photo: SEA Games 31.

With the early advantage, the Vietnamese athletes played comfortably and scored many more impressive points. At the end of the first half, the home team won with a score of 20-8.

Singapore started to rally after the break. They kept pace with Vietnam by no more than 3 points. With only 4 minutes left in the match, a slight lack of concentration caused the Vietnamese men's handball team to fall behind 7-8.

However, the SEA Games champions' class showed up at the right time. Vietnam's tight defense broke down Singapore's coordination. They continuously made mistakes in decisive passes. The Vietnamese men's beach handball team continued to dominate the game and won again with a score of 17-14.

In the previous match, Thailand lost to the Philippines in a nerve-wracking shootout with a score of 7-6. With this result, the "War Elephants" no longer have a chance to compete for the championship.

Today (May 10), the Vietnamese team will play against the Philippines again. If they win, the Vietnamese team will win the gold medal early, one match early. At the 30th SEA Games, the Vietnamese men's beach handball team won the last gold medal, the 98th for the Vietnamese team.

Ronaldo will stay at MU if new coach Ten Hag wants

Cristiano Ronaldo has told his team-mates he plans to stay at Manchester United - but only if new manager Erik ten Hag wants him in the squad.

The Portuguese superstar wants to see out the final year of his contract with the Old Trafford outfit despite the Red Devils failing to qualify for next year's Champions League.

It was feared that without qualification for Europe's biggest tournament, Ronaldo would leave. But before new manager Ten Hag arrived, a United insider revealed: "Ronaldo has told the players he won't go anywhere unless the club say they don't want him."

Ronaldo will stay at MU if new coach Ten Hag wants him.

"Nobody is more disappointed than him with how the season has gone. But he doesn't want to leave on a losing note and wants to help the club get back into the Champions League and try to win silverware next year. "However, he has told them if the new manager wants to go in a different direction, he is ready to go and has no regrets about leaving Old Trafford."

Several young stars in the Man United squad, including 20-year-old winger Anthony Elanga, are keen for Ronaldo to stay as they believe they can learn a lot from him.

Ronaldo is still playing impressively at the age of 37 and is the brightest star of the team. But his efforts alone are not enough to revive the team in crisis.

After this season, interim coach Ralf Rangnick will move to an advisory role and the person chosen to replace him is Erik ten Hag. The Dutch strategist is likely to make strong changes to the team's personnel and Ronaldo's future is still unclear.