Eighteen Asian-Pacific teams will participate in an international beach volleyball tournament to be held at Vung Tau City on October 7-9.

Nguyen Thi Mai (right) during the recent National Beach Volleyball tourney in Vung Tau City.

They are from Australia, the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and host nation Vietnam.

They will compete for a total prize of $10,500, with champions pocketing $2,200.

Except for Lao pair Pany Nanthavong and Rumpaipruet, who competed at the tournament last year, other countries are sending new faces to the tournament. Japan and Australia are attending for the first time.

The most noticeable pair is Malaysian duo Shun Ting and Teck Hua, who won the bronze medal at the 25th Southeast Asia Games in Laos two years ago.

Two Vietnamese duos are in the competition, Truong Thi Yen and Nguyen Thi Mai, and Pham Thi Cam Hong and Nguyen Thi Tiep. This is a good opportunity for the Vietnamese to prepare for the Southeast Asia Games later this year.