Viet Nam third in golds, fourth in medals

Viet Nam succeeded in achieving a top-three finish at the 24th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand, which finished last Saturday.

Viet Nam ended the competition with 64 gold medals, four behind Malaysia who finished second. Hosts Thailand finished top of the medals table with 183 golds.

“They competed wonderfully, but in my opinion, we should have finished in second place. We could have done better,” said Hoang Vinh Giang, head of Vietnamese delegation.

“There were two reasons we didn”t earn more than 64. First, we set ourselves the rather modest target of 60 to 65 gold medals, which was too low. Second, we underestimated the strength of our rivals,” he said.

However, Giang said he was happy with the Vietnamese athletes” performance. “I was pleased by Viet Nam”s performance at these Games. It was the first time our archers have won gold medals in a SEA Games event. Our athletes also fared well in other sports, such as track and field, shooting and archery. Our performance in wrestling was also okay. Nguyen Tien Minh”s badminton bronze medal was also a good result for Viet Nam.”

The biennial games closed in Korat, northeastern Thailand with traditional fanfare last Saturday, with fireworks, music and displays of Thai dancing.

“I am glad to preside over the closing ceremony. Sports events not only strengthen relations among nations but also give athletes a chance to prove themselves,” said Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont.

Despite winning 183 gold medals, the kingdom did not fare as well as Indonesia, which amassed 194 gold medals when it staged the games in 1997.

As expected, Thailand dominated the boxing events, winning 16 of the 17 golds on offer. Close rivals the Philippines boycotted the event, which they said was a “comic show” with substandard judging.

The hosts made a clean sweep of the gold medals in men”s and women”s sepak takraw, aerobic gymnastics, golf, handball, rugby, football and futsal (indoor football), and dropped only one gold in the Thai boxing.

Malaysia performed solidly in most events, excelling in swimming, athletics and 10-pin bowling, while Viet Nam dominated in artistic gymnastics, karate, wrestling and judo.

Indonesia finished fourth after dominating in badminton while the Philippines, which topped the medals table when it hosted the tournament in 2005, slumped to sixth place, although they bested Viet Nam in the overall medal count. Viet Nam finished first in 2003, when it hosted the tournament.

Laos picked up five golds in boxing, petanque and judo, while Cambodia won two in petanque and Brunei won a single gold in lawn bowls.

Among the 11 competing nations, only East Timor failed to win a single medal.

At the closing ceremony, chairman of the Thai National Olympics Committee General Yuthasak Sasiprapa passed the SEA Games flag to Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsawat Lengsavad.

When Loas hosts the games in 2009 it plans to slash the number of sports from 45 to just 25. Blue ribbon events including athletics, football and swimming will be included but less popular sports such as sailing and gymnastics are threatened with the chop.

“Brunei had only 23 sports. We are also a small country, and it is our first time hosting a major games,” vice-president of the Laos SEA Games Organising Committee Phouthong Sengakhom said.

Sengakhom, also a minister in the Prime Minister”s Office and president of the Laos National Sports Committee and Laos National Olympics Committee, said the budget for the games was US$80 million

Around $50 million of this amount will go towards the construction of a sports complex, which will include a 20,000-capacity stadium, he said.

The SEA Games participants were Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. VNS/REUTERS

VNS