After a slow start to the 28th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Singapore, Burma has come up trumps with gold medal winners in seven events over the weekend. Burmese men and women stood on the podium to hear the national anthem with victories in canoeing, dragon boat racing, wushu, chinlone and judo.
Win Hteik and Sai Min Wai got the floodgates opening with gold in the canoe race. Others were quick to follow their lead. Yan Naing Soe triumphed in the men’s 90- 100kg division in judo, and the Burmese men’s teams won two golds in chinlone competitions.
In the women’s wushu dual event, Aye Thit Sar Myint and Myat Thet Su Wai Phyo produced an amazing display to capture the gold, before Aye Thit Sar Myint went on to take another gold in the individual round of the martial art of wushu.
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Burma’s men also came home in first place in the traditional boat race event for six crew (500m), rounding off an impressive team performance which has so far also included ten silver medals and nine bronze.
Hosts Singapore were leading the medal tally as of Sunday evening with 27 golds, 20 silvers and 37 bronze. Vietnam and Thailand are close by with 21 and 20 golds, respectively. The Burmese or Myanmar team lies in sixth position.
