PANO – Nelson Silva, coach of Timor-Leste’s cycling team, was impressed by friendly and sporting spirit of Hanoians as seeing many people, especially old people from cycling clubs for the elderly, at the opening ceremony of the tournament, “To Dien Bien Phu 2014 – the People’s Army Newspaper (PAN) Cup” on May 1st.
Nelson Silva said that this was the first time his team joined a tournament in Vietnam in challenging weather conditions. However, the cyclists were getting used to the weather.
Agostinho Simao Bareto (L), his wife (second from the right) and Timor Leste's cycling team.
As cycling is new in Timor-Leste, the country’s cyclists consider the tournament a chance for them to practise and learn experience from other countries, showing their determination to win the tournament’s stages.
In the first stage, the cyclists received active encouragement from Hanoians and foreign tourists, including Agostinho Simao Bareto and his wife from Timor-Leste’s Embassy in Hanoi.
Learning about the event on mass media, the couple showed up in Hoan Kiem Lake early in the morning to encourage Timor-Leste’s team. They said that their presence would be great encouragement for foreign cyclists, especially Francelina Cabral, the only foreign female cyclist in the tournament.
Agostinho Simao Bareto said that the first participation of Timor-Leste’s cycling team in the big sports event showed the country’s integration into regional sports activities.
Peterson Hulks, a British visitor, said that he was impressed by PAN’s tournament as it was not only a sports race, but also an activity to pay gratitude to policy beneficiaries and help needy people, saying that he supported cyclists from Timor -Leste.
Translated by Tran Hoai
Đăng ký: VietNam News