25th SEA Games, Laos

Yesterday was a day of victory for Lao athletes at the ongoing SEA Games on home soil when they reached their target of 25 gold medals, as some optimists had predicted ahead of the games.

The eighth day of competition will go down in the record books as being the day when the magic number of 25 gold medals for Laos was reached in 25 sports at the 25th SEA Games.

The first gold medal yesterday came at 5:31pm, after a long day of waiting, thanks to Phonenaly Sayarath who won the women's under 52kg division in judo.

Other gold medals that pushed Laos towards success came from the swimming pool at 6pm, when Chrichina Sindara won the women's 50m surface fin swimming event and Amdavanh Phanmibounkong won the women's 400m surface fin swimming event.

Despite having reached their gold medal target, Lao athletes will continue to pursue their quest for even more gold in the last two days of competition.

The petanque team, who were favourites to win a gold medal yesterday, managed only bronze.

Of the 11 gold medals up for grabs in petanque Laos is hoping to claim at least four. So far, they have picked up one gold, one silver and five bronze medals in the sport.

The gold medal was won in the women's doubles on Monday by Manivanh Souliya and Noitavane Pasert.

The final two gold medals in petanque will be there for the taking on Friday in the men's and women's triples events.

Yesterday afternoon Laos claimed a silver medal when 20-year-old Milvady Hongfa took second place in the women's light flyweight 48kg boxing event.

On the shuttlecock court where Laos hoped to win one gold medal from the two events being contested, the team scooped two silver medals, with both golds going to the more experienced Vietnamese team.

In the round robin competition in women's football, Laos came in fourth, while Myanmar took the bronze medal. The gold medal was won by Vietnam after they beat defending champion Thailand 3-0 in a penalty shootout at Chao Anouvong Stadium yesterday.

The last men's football matches will take place today. The bronze medal match between Laos and Singapore kicks off at 3pm at Chao Anouvong Stadium, while the gold medal match between Vietnam and Malaysia will begin at 5pm at the National Stadium.


By Sisay Vilaysack

Vientianetimes

SEA Games Organising Committee Chairman Somsavat Lengsavad said yesterday the games will raise Lao sport to a higher level because of the enthusiasm shown by local people in supporting Lao athletes.

“SEA Games fever has shown that people want to cheer for and support their athletes in popular sports so this leads me to believe Lao sport will improve,” he said.

Mr Somsavat said many foreigners had told him they couldn't believe that Lao people could be so interested in the games. “I don't want to congratulate my own country but many national leaders in this region have congratulated us on our good preparations and infrastructure which has contributed to the success of the games so far.”

He said many delegations had also congratulated him on the standard of the various sports venues including those used for shooting and table tennis, saying they were better than those in other countries in the region.

“They also said we should organise other international sports events in the future.”

Mr Somsavat said he was proud of the way local people welcomed various visitors during the games with warm smiles and hospitality. He also congratulated Lao athletes, saying the SEA Games was an important event in the history of Laos .

“Our athletes have done well, winning many gold, silver and bronze medals even though the games are still not over. Laos has never had such medal success. But this time we are the hosts so our athletes trained hard for this victory.”

Mr Somsavat talked about the Lao footballers, saying they had played very well to be in the semi-finals. In the past, Laos had never reached the semi-finals.

“Today, I can say our footballers have greatly improved because of their dedicated training. They are trying to do their best, especially as we are the hosts of this event.”

He urged people to continue to show their support for Lao athletes until the end of the games, saying cheering was the best source of energy and inspiration as they pursued their medal quest.

“All Lao people should show their support right up until the end of the games. And we should continue to give visitors a warm and polite welcome, as well as taking care of the environment so the country looks its best for all delegations, guests and tourists visiting Laos,” he said.





By Souknilundon Southivongnorath

Vientianetimes