Vietnam wins women’s beach volleyball in Vung Tau

Vietnamese pair Mai Thi Hoa and Nguyen Thi Tiep receive the trophy at the Ocean Park in the southern coast city of Vung Tau on Sunday - Photo: Thanh Long HCMC – The Vietnamese team won the International Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament or Tanimex Cup 2010, which concluded on Sunday at Ocean Park in the southern coast city of Vung Tau. The Vietnam 3 team beat Taiwan 2-0 in a surprise victory in the finals though the visitors, who are currently one of the top pairs in Asia, were tipped as the strongest contenders for the title.  Vietnam 3 made of Mai Thi Hoa and Nguyen Thi Tiep beat Kou Nai Han and Chang Hui Min 21-17 in the first set. Then the home side continuously dominated the second set, 23-21. Hoa and Tiep went into Sunday’s decider with a 2-1 win over their compatriots Phan Thi Cam Hong and Do Thi Hong Loan from Vietnam 2 in the semifinal game, 19-21, 21-16, 15-13. Meanwhile, Taiwanese pair Han and Min triumphed over Nguyen Thi Mai and Truong Thi Yen from Vietnam 1, 27-25, 21-16 in the other semifinal the same day. The champion Vietnam 3 pocketed US$2,200, second placed Taiwan received US$1,700. Mai and Yen from Vietnam 1 overcame Hong and Loan from Vietnam 2 2-1 in the third place competition, getting US$1,400. The organizing board also presented the Miss Title prize worth US$500 to Wanthana Hengsana from Thailand 2. About 11 teams from Hong Kong, Thailand, Kazakhstan, China, Taiwan, Laos and Vietnam competed in the Cup from Friday to Sunday.  Vung Tau City also hosted the International Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament last year. Thailand dominated with first and second while Vietnam got seventh. The event was co-organized by the Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Tourism company, the Vietnam Volleyball Federation, the Asian Volleyball Confederation and the Tan Binh Commercial Service Import Export company (Tanimex).