Day: May 6, 2023

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Nearly 3,000 athletes competing in VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam

Nearly 3,000 athletes are competing in the VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam in the central city of Da Nang on May 4-7, according to the event’s organisers.

It said the event draws the participation of nearly 1,000 international athletes from 62 countries.

Professional athletes will compete in the men’s and women’s 1.9km swimming, 90km biking and 21.1km running on May 7 morning.

Nguyen Trong Thao, deputy director of the municipal Department of Sports and Culture, said the tournament is to contribute to promoting a healthy lifestyle for the people of Da Nang city in particular and the country in general.

Once participating in a sports event in Danang, athletes will be warmly welcomed and given the best conditions to compete and have interesting experiences in the city, the official said.

The IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam offers 34 slots to the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship on August 26-27th in Lahti, Finland, according to the organisers./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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Swimmer, marathoner bag gold medals at SEA Games 32

Swimmer Tran Hung Nguyen finished first in the men’s 200m individual medley final swimming with 2 minutes and 01.28 seconds on May 6 afternoon at the ongoing 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 32) in Cambodia, begging the first gold medal for the Vietnamese swimming team at the tournament.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc brought home the first gold medal for Vietnamese athletics, clocking 1 hour and 55 minutes in the women’s 20km walk.

The Games officially began on May 5 and will finish on May 17 in Cambodia’s capital city and four other localities, with more than 12,400 athletes, coaches, officials, staff and volunteers set to participate.

The Vietnamese team has 1,003 members, including 702 athletes competing in 31 sports. They target to win between 90-120 gold medals for a place in the top three finish./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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Karate artists win first gold for Vietnam at SEA Games after 18 years

Vietnamese karate artists won two gold medals in the women’s and men’s team kata categories at the ongoing 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, also the first by the Vietnamese karate team over the past 18 years.

Female fighters Nguyen Thi Phuong, Luu Thi Thu Uyen, and Nguyen Ngoc Tram defeated their Indonesian rivals with 41.1 points to secure the victory. Meanwhile, Le Hong Phuc, Pham Minh Duc, and Giang Viet Anh gained 41 points to snatch the gold in the men’s category.

On May 6, martial artist Le Thi Hien beat Alisa Panyasily of Laos 7-0 in Vovinam (Vietnamese traditional martial arts) to bring home a gold medal in the women’s 55kg event, also the first gold of Vietnam’s Vovinam team at the region’s biggest sporting event. Earlier, chess players Pham Thanh Phuong Thao and Ton Nu Hong An won a gold medal after topping the Ouk Chaktrang women’s doubles event.

The Games officially began on May 5 and will finish on May 17 in Cambodia’s capital city and four other localities, with more than 12,400 athletes, coaches, officials, staff and volunteers set to participate.

The Vietnamese team has 1,003 members, including 702 athletes competing in 31 sports. They target to win between 90-120 gold medals for a place in the top three finish./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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Vietnamese women basketballers win over Philippine rivals at SEA Games 32

Vietnamese women basketballers defeated their Philippine rivals with a score of 21-19 in the 3×3 category at the ongoing 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 32) on May 6.

Thao My, Thao Vy, and Tieu Duy had an impressive performance in the hard-fought match.

The tense chase took place until the last minute, making the fans of both teams very nervous.

The 3×3 basketball competition will take place until May 7 at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Eight countries, namely Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia, are participating in the 3×3 basketball category at SEA Games 32.

The Games officially began on May 5 and will finish on May 17 in Cambodia’s capital city and four other localities, with more than 12,400 athletes, coaches, officials, staff and volunteers set to participate.

The Vietnamese team has 1,003 members, including 702 athletes competing in 31 sports. They target to win between 90-120 gold medals for a place in the top three finish./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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BSP exec hopeful for stable food, oil prices

A member of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy-making Monetary Board (MB) has expressed hope that the prices of food and oil-related products would stabilize as soon as possible to reduce the secondary effects of inflation. This, as higher food and oil prices continue to impact consumers’ purchasing capacity, among others, hence, the petitions for wage hikes. MB member Bruce Tolentino, during the business journalism seminar here on Saturday, hosted by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines in coordination with San Miguel Corp., said higher transport fares and wages are among the effects of acceleration in the rate of price increases. “And principal item that we worry about is when the labor unions and the wage bargaining boards start to agitate for higher wages because food is expensive,” he said. This situation, he said, is already happening in several regions, “so we’re hoping that it does not spread to all the regions.” “And we hope that food prices will moderate sooner than later so that the pressure to ask for more (wage hikes) moderates,” he said. Tolentino noted that wage increases that have been approved by the labor department and the regional wage boards to date “have been roughly keeping up with the rate of inflation.’ In April, the rate of price increases slowed for the third straight month to 6.6 percent after hitting a 14-year high of 8.7 percent in January. Average inflation in the first four months of the year stood at 7.9 percent. Monetary authorities forecast inflation to remain above the government’s 2 percent to 4 percent target until the third quarter of this year, with the average inflation for the year seen at 6 percent. Tolentino said food inflation and energy prices, in general, determine the path of the consumer price index (CPI). Analysts and authorities expect inflation to remain sticky given that core inflation, which excludes food and oil-related items, remains high. The MB member said food items alone account for about 38 percent, on average, of CPI in recent years. He said this is higher compared to other countries. With the looming El Niño phenomenon, which is projected to hit the country starting June or July this year and is forecast to last until the first quarter of 2024, pressures from food prices are seen to remain up. Tolentino said the impact of the dry spell on inflation depends on when and where it would hit. “If it hits early in the planting season, that means that most of the crop will be wiped out. If it hits later then a smaller level of the crop will be affected,” he said, citing that “it also depends on where the drought will be.” He said mitigating measures, such as knowing weather patterns, are so important to cushion the impact of the dry spell, highlighting the need for more investments in infrastructure related to irrigation and water management. With inflation seen to remain elevated, Tolentino said a 25 basis points increase in the BSP’s key rate during the rate-setting meeting of the MB on May 18 is possible. The projected rate hike is similar to the latest uptick in the Federal Reserve’s key rates, and Tolentino said the rate action of the Fed “is always a factor that we need to consider because if the (interest rate) differential in US rates are higher, then it attracts money to go to the US.” He, however, pointed out that there are other factors in their policy stance assessment and this includes the changes in food prices. “If all of a sudden food prices fell much greater due to some miracle, then we might not do it. Again, as we always say, it (policy rate decision) depends on the data,” he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

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SEA Games 2023: Obstacle racers spark PH 5-gold haul

An obstacle racer with a championship pedigree and a fitness model sparked a five-gold haul by the Philippines Saturday even as host Cambodia kept its hold on the early medal lead in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) here. Competing in the obstacle course racing’s 100-meter event before a big crowd at Chroy Changvar Convention Center Car Park, Mark Julian Rodelas topped the men’s individual class while Precious Cabuya made her SEA Games debut doubly memorable by ruling the women’s division. Both winners also reset their world records during the eliminations – Rodelas’ 25.09 seconds that bettered his 26.42 and Cabuya’s 32.73 seconds in the 100-meter course that shattered her own mark of 33.12 achieved during the qualifying heats. Sakura Alforte opened the country’s bid in the three-day karate event by bagging the women’s individual kata gold, Annie Ramirez delivered a second gold in jiu jitsu, and the mixed relay team in aquathlon composed of Matthew Justine Hermosa, Inaki Emil Lorbes, Kira Ellis and Erika Nicole Burgos triumphed just before dusk set in. The five victories came after Jenna Kaila Napolis delivered the Philippines’ first gold in jiu-jitsu and Angel Gwen Derla scored a surprising but welcome triumph in the ancient Cambodian martial of kun-bokator on Thursday. A day after the formal opening ceremonies of the Games being hosted for the first time by Cambodia, the Philippines has amassed 7 gold, 8 silver and 10 bronze medals as of 10 p.m., good for second overall behind the host squad that will go into action Sunday with a 15-9-8 mark, as per the update of Asiasport Cambodia. One of the heart-breakers for the day was the silver medal finish of Junna Tsukii in karate that left the Filipino-Japanese perplexed, convinced that she was the clear winner over Malaysian Chandran Shamalarani, who was proclaimed the winner by a 2-3 decision in the individual female -50kg kumite. ‘I cannot understand the judges and the referee, why they gave the decision to her. I was really surprised with the decision. I’m sorry, this is not the color of the medal that we wanted but that’s it,’ said Tsukii, 31, the 2022 Birmingham World Games gold medalist. The Gilas Pilipinas and Gilas women 3×3 squads advanced to the semifinals, a day before the Gilas 5-on-5 team arrives here. The men’s team of Almond Vosotros, Lervin Flores, Joseph Eriobu, and Joseph Sedurifa swept the group stage with victories over Laos, 21-5; Vietnam, 21-13; and Indonesia, 21-11, in Group A while the women’s squad of Jack Animam, Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos, and Mikka Cacho stumbled in the first game with a 21-19 defeat to Vietnam but bounced back against Laos, 21-6, and reigning champion Thailand, 14-8, also in Group A. Three swimmers – Jerard Jacinto, Thanya dela Cruz, and Jarod Hatch – advanced to the finals being held at press time. With Philippine Sports Commission chair Richard Bachmann and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino in the crowd watching, the 35-year-old Rodelas dethroned 2019 champion Kevin Pascua in an all-Filipino duel, clocking 25.1939 seconds against the latter’s 26.8135. Rodelas, whose father Mario is the second cousin of 15-time SEA Games athletics champion Elma-Muros Posadas, bagged a bronze in his initial foray in the sport in 2019 when the Games were held in the Philippines. Looking to stamp his mark, he quit his job as a high school English teacher and, for the next four years, ‘really trained hard to reach a higher level.’ Cabuya clocked 32.7317 in the women’s finals, relegating compatriot Kaizen dela Serna (35.5218) to second. Triathlon delivers anew Like it did in Vietnam last year, triathlon and other events under its wings — in this case mixed relay team aquathlon — produced an early gold courtesy of Hermosa, Lorbes, Ellis and Burgos. The quartet clocked a combined one hour, nine minutes and 57 seconds in the 500m swim and 2.5-kilometer (km) run event, easily winning over an Indonesian squad that clocked 1:11.28 and Vietnam which settled for third in 1:13.321. The mixed relay team’s victory in aquathlon came on the heels of Andre Kim Remolino’s silver medal finish in men’s aquathlon earlier in the day in the seaside town of Kep, 167 km away from here. Remolino clocked 15 minutes and seven seconds in the 500-m swim and 2.5-km run sprint event behind Indonesian Rashif Yaqin’s 14:28. Cambodia’s naturalized entry, Margot Marabedian, topped the women’s side in 16:09 and loomed as the biggest threat to the title-retention bid of Filipino Kim Mangrobang, 31, who will seek to annex her fourth straight title in women’s triathlon on Monday. Marabedian, 27, is a former French triathlete, one of three naturalized athletes Cambodia is fielding here. Cyclists falter under the heat In Siem Reap, Filipino riders missed making the podium of cycling’s cross country of mountain bike at the foothills of Kulen Mountain with the Indonesians wielding the broom in scalding conditions. Ariana Evangelists barely made the podium with her fourth-place finish in the women’s race while Jericho Rivera was equally punished by the over 40-degree heat in the men’s side of the competition that saw riders in both genders either failing to finish or unable to complete laps. ‘Unfortunately, arriving here three days before the event isn’t not enough for the riders to acclimatize with the excessive heat,’ said PhilCycling vice president and MTB head Oscar Rodriguez who checked in here with the MTB team on Tuesday. ‘Even under the shade it was 45 [degrees Celsius].’ Indonesia’s Salyu Bella Dewi topped the 18.50-km race (3.7-km loop, 5 laps) in one hour, 13 minutes and 48 seconds. Evangelista persevered for a podium finish but could only settle for fourth place some six minutes behind Dewi. Shagne Yaoyao figured in a clash in the fourth lap and wound up ninth with a time of 1:24:51, while Nicole Quinones fell a lap short and wasn’t timed anymore. Eleven of the 18 riders who started managed to complete all five laps. The result wasn’t any different in the men’s race topped by Indonesians Ferry Yudoyono and Zaenal Fanani with only two seconds separating them. Rivera completed the 7-lap, 25.90-km event raced over the same course in 1:19:11, five minutes off Yudoyono’s winning time of 1:13:51. Mark Louwel Valderama was 10th in 1:22:28 in the race that had hometown bet Khim Menglong salvaging bronze with 1:15:06. ‘No excuses,’ said Rodriguez, stressing that the Indonesian and Thai teams got used to the Cambodian heat by arriving weeks before the competitions. ‘We’ll see the condition of the riders tomorrow.’

Source: Philippines News Agency