On Monday, the official draw took place in Da Nang for the qualifiers in the handball, basketball 3x3, kabaddi, sepak takraw, volleyball and football competitions at the 5^th Asian Beach Games (ABG5).  ABG5 will be held in the city from 24 September - 3 October on local beaches, and will feature 14 beach sports in a total of 22 different categories.

The draw ceremony (Photo: dantri.com.vn)

In the women's kabaddi event (Kabaddi is a contact sport which is similar to wrestling, and it originated in India), Viet Nam were drawn in Group B along with Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.  Group A consists of India, South Korea and Indonesia.

In the women’s handball event, Vietnamese team are in Group A with Taiwan, Hong Kong, Jordan and Indonesia, whilst Group B features Thailand, China, Japan, India, Mongolia and Bangladesh.

With regard to the men’s volleyball event, Group A comprises Viet Nam, Hong Kong and Indonesia, Group B has Qatar, Bahrain and Afghanistan, Group C is Oman, Japan and Mongolia, and Group D Pakistan, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka.

The Vietnamese female and male sepak takraw players will compete in categories of 3 players, teams and Regu.

Viet Nam’s male football team is in Group A with Thailand and Laos, whilst Group B consists of Oman, Qatar and Lebanon.  Group C brings together the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uzbekistan and Palestine, and Group D has Japan, China and Afghanistan. 

Under the competition’s rules, the football teams will compete in a round-robin format with those finishing first and second in each group going through to the semi-finals.  If the teams are drawing at the end of the 36-minute match, they will continue playing 3 minutes of extra time followed by a penalty shootout if required. 

The beach football will take place between 25 September and 2 October.  Viet Nam will play against Laos at 4pm on 25 September, and Thailand at 4pm on 27 September.