25th SEA Games, Laos

Khamla Xayavong, 21, has become the latest Lao hero after scooping three gold medals in shooting events.

Yesterday Khamla struck gold in the 10m running target mixed event.

She won the event with a score of 358, beating silver medallist Ha Dang Hong of Vietnam, who scored 353 points, while Khamla's team-mate Hongkham Xayalath took the bronze medal with a score of 352.

Khamla also bagged a silver medal in the mixed 10m running target category, scoring a total of 1,040 points.

The gold medal in this event went to Vietnam with 1,043 points, while bronze went to Thailand with 977 points.

“I am very happy and proud to win three gold medals and a silver for the home fans. In the future I will try to improve my shooting skills and hope to be a national shooter forever if the nation needs me,” said an excited Khamla.

Before picking up her third gold medal yesterday, Khamla scored 367.0 to set a new SEA Games record in the women's 10m running target event on Saturday. The previous highest score in this event was 358.0. She collected another gold medal on the same day in the women's 10m running target team event.

Now sports fans around the country are in awe of Khamla because it is the first time in Lao sporting history that one competitor has won more than one gold medal at the SEA Games.

Three gold medals is a wonderful present for Khamla as she approaches her 22nd birthday on December 30.

So far, Lao shooters have amassed three gold, one silver and one bronze medal.

Photo: Khamla Xayavong is delighted with her gold medal and a new SEA Games record.

Khamla Xayavong, 21, made sporting history for Laos after she won a gold medal on Saturday in the women's 10m running target shooting event.

Her gold medal is not only the first ever for Laos in shooting, but her score of 367.0 set a new SEA Games record. The previous highest score in this event was 358.0.

The gold medal is a wonderful present for Khamla as she approaches her 22nd birthday on December 30.

“I am very excited and happy to win this gold medal, which I hoped to win because I trained hard since earlier this year,” Khamla said.

Other records were set at the shooting range on Saturday.

Linn Aung from Myanmar won the men's 50m rifle prone event with 695.40 points (previous SEA Games record 592.0 points). Aung Nyein Ni also from Myanmar took the silver medal in the same event with 694.70 points (previous SEA Games record 592.0 points).

On Fri day, Tanyaporn Prucksakorn won the women's 10m air pistol event with 483.0 points (previous SEA Games record 481.5 points).

In the swimming pool, the Singaporean team set a new record in the women's 100m freestyle with a time of 03:45:73, beating the previous record of 03:51.86 set at the 24th SEA Games in Thailand in 2007.

Cai Lin Khoo of Malaysia won the women's 400m freestyle with a time of 04:10.75. The previous SEA Games record was 04:18.20.

Huu Viet Nguyen of Vietnam took gold in the men's 100m breaststroke with a time of 01:01.60, besting the previous SEA Games record of 01:01.92.

Yi Ting Siow of Malaysia won the women's 100m breaststroke, setting a new record of 01:09.82. The previous SEA Games record was 01:01.15.

Daniel Bego of Malaysia took gold in the men's 100m freestyle with a time of 00:50.16, shaving less than one second off the previous SEA Games record of 00:50.80.

In the men's 100m breaststroke Indra Gunawan of Indonesia took gold with a time of 01:02:59, breaking the previous SEA Games record of 01:02.96.

Other swimming records tumbled on Thursday. In the women's 100m freestyle Ting Wen Quah of Singapore set a time of 00:56.03, beating the previous SEA Games record of 00:56.05).

In the women's 200m individual medley Yi Ting Siow of Malaysia set a record of 02:14.57, breaking the previous SEA Games record of 2:17.17.

In the women's 200m freestyle the Singaporean team won in a time of 08:11.75, significantly cutting down on the time of 8:20.77 set previously.



By Sisay Vilaysack
Vientianetimes

(KPL) The Lao National Shooting Federation had just selected its team and it officially declared last week that it is now seriously preparing for the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane at the end of this year.

The team is made up of six shooters, four men and two women, who are now on a six-month training stint in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The Vietnamese government has pledged to provide support with the layout, organization and operations of the shooting range to ensure that it complies with the standards of the SEA Games.

The secretary of the Lao Shooting Federation, Dr Paseuth Bhodhisane said that the six sharpest shooters in Laos will carry out practices on shooting at moving targets.

The federation hopes Laos will win a minimum of one gold, two silver and four bronze medals at the SEA Games.

Lao shooters won several medals at the 32nd Southeast Asia Shooting Association (SEASA) Championship in Vietnam recently.
Dr Paseuth said, “This is the first time that Laos will be competing in the shooting event of SEA Games, mainly because we’re hosting the games but nevertheless we want to do our level best”.

He said that qualification for the SEA Games competition was a difficult process. Each country had to send its shooters to pass the 32nd Southeast Asian Shooting Association (SEASA) competition, before acceptance for the SEA Games.

“We already passed the 32nd SEASA last year in Vietnam and achieved good results, getting one gold, four silver and eight bronze medals and for the coming SEA Games we believe we can improve on that tally,” Dr Paseuth said.
The federation began its selection of a provisional shooting squad following the Eighth National Games in Champassak at the end of last year. The federation finally whittled down the squad to 35 and finally selected six of them.

Dr Paseuth told the KPL News reporter said the federation faced three major problems and to try to overcome them it has asked for help from the government and Lao Sports Committee.

“We need to train Lao shooting referees because we do not have any international referee. Secondly, the new shooting field in Dongsanghin village, Xaythany district, was not built for international shooting competition and thirdly our shooters do not have the necessary equipment for international shooting competition.”

He said at least one of the problems is being solved as the Lao National Sports Committee would be sending local referees for training in Thailand.

25th SEA Games is just around the corner, and the SEA Games committee are now working very hard to make sure that everything goes smoothly and is ready before the games kick off. In this topic, we will show you some update photos from the venues in Vientiane.


Main Stadium (15 May 09)




Swimming Pool (15 May 09)

Main Stadium's Entrance (15 May 09)


Shooting Rang 15 May 2009, Seating Capacity: 200


To be updated