Gymnast Nguyen Ha Thanh has received an invitation to attend the 2013 Challenge Cup in France from March 14-18.

The cup’s organising board will cover the whole expenses for Thanh, the only Vietnamese gymnast to be invited to the event.

The man was one of the top 10 Vietnamese athletes in 2012, having won a gold and a silver at the gymnastics world cup and a silver and a bronze at the Asian gymnastics championship last year.

After the French tournament, Thanh will continue to attend the Challenge Cup in Germany also in March.

The World Challenge Cup series is an open category, with participation limited to two gymnasts per country and apparatus, and invitations addressed at least to the apparatus finalists of the 2012 Olympic Games and the best eight gymnasts per apparatus from the 2012 World Cup Ranking list for Individual Apparatus.-VNA