Thais gather pace with eight golds
Shooters and traditional boat racers reap rich rewards as Radomyos wins gold in swimming on first day of full competition
Thailand picked up the pace in the 28th SEA Games medal race by capturing eight gold medals on the first full day of competition yesterday.
Swimmer Radomyos Matjiur won the men’s 200m breaststroke title following withdrawal of defending champion and compatriot Nuttapong Ketin, who tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.
Radomyos clocked 2:14.83min to beat Singaporeans Chien Yin Khoo, who came in second, and Christopher Cheong.
“I am very happy to win the gold medal because this is not my favourite event,’’ the Thai said.
Thailand also won gold medals in shooting (two), traditional boat race (two) and one apiece in petanque and judo.
In shooting, Pongsatorn Panyatong, Napis Tortungpanich and Apichakli Ponglaokham scored 1,844 points for victory in the men’s 10m air rifle team event.
Pongsatorn also won the individual title, scoring 207.9 points to beat Napis, who managed 206.8 points.
Sununta Majchacheep, Thanyalak Chotphibunsin and Supaluk Pimpan finished third in the women’s team event.
In canoeing, the Thai team of Anusorn Sommit, Piyaphan Phaophat, Nathaworn Waenphrom and Kasemsit Borriboonwasin won in the men’s K4-1000m in 3:04.781min.
In traditional boat race, Tanawoot Waipnid, Thotsaporn Pholseth, Pornchai Tesdee, Vinya Seechomchuen, Pornprom Kramsuk and Boonsong Imtim took the gold medal in the men’s 6-crew 200m in 1:00.619min.
Nutcharat Chimbanrai, Nattakant Boonrung, Prachalee Moonkasem, Jaruwan Chaikan, Patthama Nanthain and Arisara Pantulap also won the women’s event.
Thailand coach Santat Yingwongyang said: “It was a surprise because we were not expecting to win these two events. I am very proud of my athletes.”
In petanque, Thanakorn Sangkaew captured the men’s individual title after beating Cambodia’s Sok Chanmean 42-37 in the showdown.
In judo, Japanese-Thai Masayuki Terada defeated Indonesia’s Iksan Apriyadi in the men’s 66kg final.
Meanwhile, Vietnam teenager Nguyen Thi Anh Vien won two golds in record-breaking time and then said she hoped to repeat the feat a staggering nine more times.
The Florida-trained 18-year-old stole the show with huge wins in the women’s 800m and 400m individual medley as records tumbled on day one in the Singapore pool.
Singapore’s Quah Zheng Wen, who is also swimming a marathon 12 events, lost out to Vietnam’s Hoang Quy Phuoc in the men’s 200m freestyle before winning the 100m backstroke.
All four wins by Nguyen, Hoang and Quah were in event record times as the swimming competition got off to a lightning start.
Nguyen set the tone when she broke the Games 400m medley record in the morning heats, and then lowered it again by more than a second to 4:42.88min.
The emerging star finished 51 seconds ahead of Myanmar’s 10-year-old Oo Shun Lei Maw, who was half-aminute adrift of the field when she touched in 5:34.00 to warm applause.
Nguyen also obliterated the competition when she won the 800m in a Games-record 8:34.85, 18 seconds ahead of second-placed Ammiga Himathongkom of Thailand.
Afterwards, she said her intense schedule was all part of her training for the July-August world championships in Russia, where she expects to enter three or four events.
“I hope so, yeah,” she said, when asked if she could win all 11 events in Singapore.
“I think I can do better... I knew I could do this,” she said, adding “also I want” to win all of her 11 races in record time.
In tennis, the Thai women’s team, led by veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn and young star Luksika Kumkhum, comfortably beat Singapore 3-0 in the quarter-finals.
The Thais will next meet Malaysia in the semi-finals.