Indonesian archer wins first gold of SEA Games
Indonesian archer wins first gold of SEA Games
Agencies, Hanoi
Rina Dewi Puspita Sari won the women's individual elimination archery final on Wednesday to give Indonesia the first gold medal of the 22nd Southeast Asian Games.
Rina beat Malaysia's Mon Redee, who set a games record in qualifying, 110-107 in the final. Rusena Gelanteh picked up bronze for Indonesia.
Competition in 14 of the 32 sports, including boxing and soccer, was starting before the formal opening ceremonies on Friday in Hanoi.
Soccer semifinals were already taking shape on Wednesday, with Malaysia's Under-23 national team defeating Singapore 2-0 to book a berth in the final four.
Rajan Koran put Malaysia ahead at the 57th minute from a 12- meter shot that deflected off a Singaporean defender into the goal.
Akmal Rahkli sealed the win with a low shot from just outside the box in the 83rd minute.
Singapore had more than half a dozen clear scoring chances, but failed to capitalize because of poor finishing or good saves by Malaysian goal keeper Zainizam Marjan.
Malaysia had six points from two games, following its opening 8-1 over Cambodia. Singapore, which opened with a 2-0 upset loss to Myanmar, was virtually eliminated from the competition on consecutive losses.
It was the second defeat for the city-state's young lions after being beaten 2-0 by Myanmar on Saturday, also at Ho Chi Minh City's Thong Nhat Stadium, in the under-23 blue ribbon event.
Singapore, which is in Group B, meets Cambodia on Saturday in a must-win clash. In their opening game over the weekend, Cambodia were crushed 8-1 by Malaysia.
Group A, the "group of death", features defending champions Thailand, hosts Vietnam, Indonesia and Laos.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the semi- finals. The final will be played on Dec. 12.
Organizers were expecting about 10,000 foreign visitors, including athletes and officials for the Dec. 5-13 SEA Games.
The sports will be spread across venues in 11 cities and provinces, although capital Hanoi and south Ho Chi Minh City will host most of the competition.
Participants include athletes from the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus East Timor. The SEA Games, held once every two years, are the biggest sporting event in the region and 442 sets of medals are up for grabs. Vietnam is hosting the Games for the first time.
ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Police, meanwhile, seized four fake tickets used to gain entry to last weekend's opening matches in the blue riband football competition of the Southeast Asian Games, state media said on Wednesday.
The tickets were bought by Vietnamese fans desperate to watch Sunday's opener in which Indonesia beat minnows Laos 1-0, and Vietnam's subsequent 1-1 draw with Thailand at Hanoi's My Dinh National stadium.
The fans were able to enter the stadium with counterfeit tickets they had bought from touts outside the stadium, but found their seats already occupied, the Tuoi Tre newspaper said.
They were not arrested but were asked by police to assist in their investigation into the source of the color photocopied tickets.
Last Wednesday thousands of Vietnamese fans flocked to the 40,000-seater stadium on the outskirts of the capital to try and snap up tickets for Sunday's game against heavyweights Thailand but most were disappointed.
State-run companies and government officials have been given first opportunity to purchase tickets for the football tournament, the highlight of the regional mini-Olympics which officially open on Friday
Cover prices for the tickets range from 50,000-150,000 dong (US$3-$10) but are being sold on the black market for up to 10 times their real value.
Vietnam SEA Games medal tally
1. Indonesia 1 0 1 2
2. Malaysia 0 1 0 0
3. Myanmar 0 0 0 0
4. Philippines 0 0 0 0
5. Singapore 0 0 0 0
6. Thailand 0 0 0 0
7. Vietnam 0 0 0 0
8. Laos 0 0 0 0
9. Brunei 0 0 0 0
10. Cambodia 0 0 0 0
11. East Timor 0 0 0 0