Vietnam Handball Federation set up

As many as 60 attendees have voted a 23-member executive board of the Vietnam Handball Federation (term I, 2013-2017), in which Mr Nguyen Quang Vinh, editor-in-chief of Thieu Nien Tien Phong newspaper, is the chairman.

 The three vice chairmen are Nguyen Hung Quan, former Chief of Office of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training; Vu Quang Huy, Vice Director of VTC Digital Television; and Le Chi Hieu, CEO cum General Director of Thu Duc Housing Development Joint Stock Company. Meanwhile, Mr Dao Duc Kien, head of the department of handball under the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, was selected as its Secretary General.

In Vietnam, handball was first developed in the mid-1980s, with a strong movement in schools in Ho Chi Minh City, then officially became a part of competition tours of the national level in 1994. A year later, handbcll was listed in the program of the National Sports Festival.The Federation was born under the Decision 973/QD- BNV of the Vietnam Ministry of Home Affairs.

Speaking at the event, Mr Vuong Bich Thang, Head of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, highly appreciated the great efforts of the Vietnam Handball Federation's mobilizing board, saying that the Federation is needed to improve the weakness of infrastructure, the quality of coaches/instructors, hoping to see new activity in the grassroots level, especially teenagers and students, opening training courses in preparation for the upcoming Asian beach games 2016 and ASIAD 2019.

The nation is seeing a strong development of handball (both indoor and beach) in some locations, especially Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city. In the first beginning, there is a training system from talented, senior and national squad levels, gathering around 300 athletes.

In the last years, Vietnam's handball sector has won a gold medal in the SEA Games 2003 (men's and women's events); a silver medal in the SEA Games 2007 (men's and women's events); women's gold medal and men's silver medal in the ASEAN championships 2007; 5^th position in the Asia championships 2008 (women's), and the two silver medals at the Asian beach games 2010 and 2012.

(Source: Dangcongsan.vn)