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