At the closing ceremony of SEA Games 31 (Photo: VNA) Of the records, 11 were set by Vietnamese athletes,including swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang in the 400m freestyle and runner Nguyen ThiOanh in the women’s 3,000m hurdles.
AFP ran an article highlighting new records made atthe 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), which concluded inVietnam on May 23.
The article, published the same day, said nearly5,000 athletes from 11 countries fought for Southeast Asian pride, with hostsVietnam easily topping the medals table with 205 gold, followed by Thailand andIndonesia.
Singapore emerged again as SEA swimming kings with 21golds in the pool. Meanwhile, Malaysia swept all eight golds in the diving, inwhat was a generally disappointing Games for the country, coming a lowly sixthin the medals table with 39 golds.
Timor Leste won three silver and two bronze medals toprop up the table, the article said.
Stars of the future were made and bolstered theiralready global reputation.
Thailand’s 16-year-old Puripol Boonson shattered the200m Games record and also clinched the 100m gold as he became the region's newsprint king on the track.
Reigning Olympic champions Panipak Wongpattanakitfrom Thailand defended her taekwondo crown, as did Filipino Hidilyn Diaz in thewomen's weightlifting.
A national hero in the Philippines, Diaz is alreadyeyeing the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Organisers nominated Nguyen Huy Hoang, Nguyen ThiOanh, and Singapore’s Quah Jing Wen (swimming) and Thailand’s Joshua RobertAtkinson (athletics) as the Games’ top competitors.
The article cited Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh as saying at the closing ceremony that "The torch of peace and development in Southeast Asia will continueto shine"./.
VNA
