Mohammad Nazmizan of Malaysia wins the SEA Games men's 200m in Hanoi (© Larry Loh)
Today on Day four of the track & field competition at the South East Asian Games in the My Dinh National Stadium, aside the shock defeat of overwhelming favourite Yin Yin Khine of Myanmar in the women's 800m, basically the favourites competed and won.
Yet most the talk in the stadium was over yesterday's crowning of Malaysia's Muhammad Nazmizan as the region's latest King Of Sprints, following his solid win in the 200m (21.05) which backed up his victory in Sunday's close 100m final (10.48).
The 22 year-old University student is the third Malaysian ever to achieve such a double feat in the Games’ history, and local coaches are convinced that the region has a sprinter with world class potential on its hands.
Further Shot glory for Singapore
The favourites who stamped their superiority on Thursday (11 Dec) included Singapore's Dong Enxin in the men’s Shot Put (17.28m) and Thailand's 4 x100m relay teams (40.05 for the men, 44.82 for women).
Enxin the well-built Singaporean youngster, who was originally from China, showed great maturity in today's Shot Put competition, as after Round 1 (16.33m) he found himself behind Thailand's Sarayudh Pinitjit (16.48m). But he kept improving - throwing 16.82m, 17.26 m and eventually 17.28m. The bronze went to another Thai, Chatchawal Polyemg (16.48m).
Chinese-born Singaporean Du Xianhui had won the women's Shot title on the opening day in Hanoi.
Thai relay double
As for the men's 4x100m relay team from Thailand, there was no way they would lose their dominance in this event. Led by Sittichai Suwonprateep, they won with ease - in 40.05. Singapore (40.86) took the silver while Indonesia (40.91 secs) clinched the bronze.
For Sittichai, the win has added meaning to his participation in Hanoi. Despite being the favourite, he had lost both the 100m and 200m - events which his country has often dominated at the South East Asian level. Plus Thailand had actually won the 4x100m relay at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, beating the highly fancied Japanese.
If the Thai men had it easy, their female counterparts were expected to be chased hard by the Vietnamese in the 4x100m relay. In fact they won just as comfortably in 44.82. Vietnam (45.57) and Indonesia (45.86) had to settle for the lesser honours.
Khine is more than convincingly beaten
The day's drama was provided by the women in the 800m. Coming into this Games, Myanmar's Yin Yin Khine, who won both the 400m and 800m gold medals in style at this summer's Asian Athletics Championships in Manila, was touted as the one athlete nobody could touch. In the 800m, in particular, she was deemed invincible, as she had clocked below 2:02 in Manila, a time that was much faster than anyone else in today's lineup.
In the end, however, Vietnam's Do Thi Bong won in 2:10.92. The silver went to her team mate Pham Dinh Khanh Doan (2:11.48), while Myanmar's Myint Myint Aye (2:12.73) clinched the bronze. As for Khine, she had to settle for fifth in an unbelievably slow time of 2:25.37 with illness being touted as the reason for her disappointing display.
Other winners...
Malaysia's Yuan Yufang showed her determination by entering the 20-kilometres walk nine days after undergoing an angiogram for an irregular heartbeat. She won in 1:39:25, three and half minutes better than the games record she set in 2001.
Other winners today included Malaysia's Mohd Shahrul Amri Suhaimi in the men's Long Jump (7.65m) and Mohd Malik Ahmad Tobias in the Decathlon (6,668 points); Thailand's Noeng-Ruthai Chaipech in the women's High jJmp (1.86m) and Boonthung Srisung in the men's 5000m (14:15.20); and Arniel Ferrera of the Philippines in the Hammer throw (55.28m).
