Vietnam surges clear in SEAG medals tally

VIENTIANE : In a packed program in capital Vientiane, including badminton and men's boxing finals, Vietnam's haul of 13 golds took them to a total of 76, seven clear of longtime leader Thailand.

On the final day of track and field its tally was boosted by wins in the 1,500m for Nguyen Dinh Cuong and Truong Thanh Hang, both of whom had previously won their 800m events.

\"I was injured before the SEA Games so I'm very happy to win two gold medals,\" said Nguyen Dinh Cuong, who timed 3 minutes 46.58 seconds.

In the women's event, Truong Thanh Hang held off a strong challenge by Myanmar's Than Toe Khin Myo down the homestretch to win in 4:19.48, saying she was surprised by how hard she had been pushed in the final 100 meters.

Indonesia's Triyaningsih completed the women's 5,000 meters/10,000 meters double for the second SEA Games running, smashing the games record by more than a minute and finishing in 32 minutes, 49.47 seconds.

Malaysia's Mohammed Zafril won the men's 400m, with Treewadee Yongphan taking gold in the women's event for Thailand.

Thailand finished the track and field with a flourish, winning both 4x100m sprint relays, with Amornrat Winatho taking heptathlon gold.

Malaysia's Roslinda Samsu took the women's pole vault in a new SEA Games record of 4.15 meters while compatriot Lee Hup Wei took gold in the men's high jump.

Danilo Fresnido won men's javelin gold for the Philippines and Singapore's Zhang Guirong won the women's shot put.

The football final between Vietnam and Malaysia is a surprise matchup that will see a new winner for the first time since 1993, after Thailand won the previous eight editions.

Vietnam will go into the match full of confidence after beating Malaysia, 3-1, in the group stages.

Malaysia coach K. Rajagopal said he hoped the latest chapter in Malaysian football's revival would not turn out to be another false dawn. The country last won the SEA Games football trophy in 1989 in Kuala Lumpur.

Athletes from 11 nations are competing at the 10-day SEA Games, which are held every two years in sports ranging from athletics and swimming to sepak takraw and wushu. They close today.
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