LookAtVietnam Bridge – Four Hanoian athletes are on track to win medals at the Asian Grand Prix next month in the women's 4x100m relay.

Nguyen Thi Nu, Do Thi Ly, Doan Thi Lien and Nguyen Thi Thuy, who have been training in China since February, are among the country's leading athletes.

Tran Thanh Van, head of the athletics section of Hanoi's Department of Sports and Physical Training said: "These athletes are ready to compete at international events. Despite their youth and lack of competition experience we expect they will rank in the top four."

The four sprinters will arrive back in Vietnam next Tuesday.

Ly and Thuy will be competing at the Asian Junior Athletics Championship on June 12-15 in Jakarta, ahead of the third round of the Grand Prix on June 30, which is taking place in Vietnam for the first time.

The first and second rounds take place on June 23 and 27 in Thailand.

The Asian Athletics Association (AAA) will select the most outstanding athletes to take part in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in August.

This year, the AAA competition will see four new relay events. The Ha Noi Department of Sports and Physical Training will meet the four sprinters' expenses.

Vietnamese sprinters Truong Thanh Hang and Vu Thi Huong and high jumper Bui Thi Nhung are also expected to win medals at this year's competition.

Hang, Vietnam's best athlete of 2007, finished first in the women's 800m Asian Championships in Jordan last July with a time of 2 minutes 4.77 seconds, defeating more experienced rivals from South Korea, Japan and China.

Last June, Nhung and Huong grabbed bronze medals in the third round of the 2007 Asian Grand Prix in India, which attracted 170 athletes from 23 countries and territories.

Vietnam are hoping the tournament will help its athletes secure enough points to qualify for the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.

The Grand Prix will feature 20 events, including many of Vietnam's best disciplines, such as the 100m, the 1,500m and the high jump.

Winning athletes will receive prize money of US$1,500, while the first and second runners-up will get $1,000 and $700, respectively.

(Source: Viet Nam News)