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Indonesia, Thailand share lead

Thais win speed events at Southeast Asian Games

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Posted: Monday August 09, 1999 11:20 AM

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP) -- Singapore's Joscelin Yeo won two swimming races in record times, and a 32-year-old Filipino mother kept alive a 16-year unbeaten string in the long jump Sunday in the Southeast Asian Games.

Laos won its first SEA Games gold ever when Vilasone Phikhaikham knocked out Vietnam's Trong Sinh Doan in men's welterweight taekwondo.

Meanwhile, Thailand dominated the speed events. Thai men finished 1-2 in the 100-meter dash, another runner won the 3,000 steeplechase and Thai swimmers won four gold medals, breaking three games records.

Those, plus victories in women's shot put and in a team snooker match that ended after 1:30 a.m. Monday, gave the Thais eight golds for the first day of medal competition. Atthasit Mahitthi finished off the more than 15-hour snooker contest by beating Malaysia's Ng Ann Seng 6-5.

Indonesia also had eight golds, largely thanks to five victories by karate athletes in events judged on style.

Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore each had four golds.

Filipino long jumper Elma Muros-Posadas, mother of a 7-year-old girl, said she might reconsider plans to retire after she won her eighth SEA Games long jump gold. She has a winning mark of 6.34 meters (20 feet, 9 3/4 inches)

Yeo, 20, is far from thinking about retirement -- she still has seven individual races to go after winning the 100 freestyle and 200 individual medley.

But she wasn't able to make up a two-body-length deficit starting the anchor leg of the women's 800 freestyle relay, one of the four swimming races won by the Thais.

They also won the men's relay, Chonlathorn Vorathamrong won the women's 200 backstroke, and Ratapong Sirisanont, an Asian Games silver medalist last year, edged Indonesia's Albert Sutanto by 0.03 seconds in the men's 400 individual medley.

Ratapong finished in 4:25.16, well ahead of his games record of 4:27.91. The two relays also were games records.

Malaysia's Alex Lim won the men's 200 backstroke.

On the track, Thailand's Reanchai Seeharwong claimed honors as the region's fastest man by winning the 100 in 10.26 seconds, 0.13 seconds ahead of teammate Vissanu Sophanich.

In the women's 100, Indonesia's Irene Yoseph won in 11.56.

Indonesia's Supriati Sutono had little competition to worry her in the women's 5,000. Thailand's Viraiwan Kumpitak was the only other entrant, and Supriati beat her by more than 42 seconds with a time of 17:12.98.

Other Indonesian winners were Shinta Heru, who beat Thailand's Sivaporn Meyer for gold in the women's welterweight taekwondo, and all Indonesia's entries in the men's and women's team and individual kata divisions of karate competition. The kata competitors are judged on style. Abdullah Kadir won the men's individual gold and Omita Olga Ompi the women's.

In karate's kumite division, Indonesia won the men's team competition and Malaysia the women's.

Thailand's Jirasak Suthichat took the lead two-thirds through the race and won the 3,000 steeplechase by more than six seconds over the Philippines' Eduardo Beunavista, finishing in 9:03.96.

Thais Krasaeyan Juthaporn and Taweedech Kruawan finished 1-2 in the women's shot put, and Singapore's James Wong won the men's discus with a throw of 59.5 meters (195 feet, 2 inches).

Malaysia won gold and silver in women's 3-meter springboard diving. Farah Begum Abdullah beat teammate Mun Yee Leong 456.5 to 444.95 for top honors.

Malaysian cyclist Shahrulneeza Razali won these games' first gold, beating Indonesia's Tonton Susanto by 48.03 seconds in the men's 41-kilometer road race.

Other taekwondo winners were the Philippines' Alessandro Libiano, Philippines, who beat Thailand's Prawes Sattakom at men's middleweight, and Vietnam's Lieu Chau Khuc, who defeated the Philippines' Margarita Estela Bonifacio at women's middleweight.

The Philippines also won gold in 9-ball pool team competition, beating Thailand 2-0.

 

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