HANOI, 7 December 2003 — Vietnam went to the top of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) medals table yesterday after a powerful performance in the shooting events.
The host nation won three gold medals in team shooting events and one silver in the men’s air pistol event.
With two victories in bodybuilding and one in sepak takraw, a cross between soccer and volleyball played with a rattan ball, Vietnam raised its overall gold tally to nine, four more than Indonesia with five.
Indonesia’s cyclists had earlier dominated the cycling events claiming gold and silver in the 30.6 kilometer discipline and gold in the 50 kilometer event. The Indonesian team also won two rowing medals yesterday.
Singapore’s highly fancied men’s water-polo team beat Thailand to victory, just as they did in Malaysia two years ago.
The Malaysians were also in the winners’ circle yesterday, taking home a body-building gold to move into the overall third place on the medal tally.
Myanmar managed to collect its first gold of the games with a victory in the shooting giving it a tally of one gold and three silver.
The successful day is likely to lead to another night of exuberance for Vietnamese sports fans.
Vietnam has been gripped by SEA Games fever as the streets of the capital Hanoi fill with motorbike riding youths waving Vietnamese flags late into the evening.
More than 100 motorcycles and three cars were seized by police in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday night after Vietnam beat Indonesia in the football 1-0, state run media reported. Typically, young Vietnamese engage in impromptu motorcycle races through the city streets after major sporting events, but police have flooded the streets to clamp down on the would-be racers.
