EVER-DEPENDABLE

By Mark Koh, TS Student Reporter, NUS
Picture by Aundry Gan in Vientiane

Discus thrower James Wong, seeking his eighth successive SEA Games gold in his pet event, achieved his goal today (Dec 16) to give Team Singapore its first Track & Field medal in Vientiane.
 
Dry Spell
The 40-year-old threw a distance of 53.60m on his sixth and last throw to edge out his closest rivals, both from Thailand. While the Nanyang Polytechnic lecturer could not match his personal best of 59.87m, his gold was a feat all its own. It broke Track & Field's dry spell while affirming James' status as one of Singapore's most consistent athletes who delivers on big occasions.
 
Quiet Day
On a generally quiet day for Team Singapore, a few other athletes stood out. In Archery, the Women's Recurve team of Vanessa Loh, Wendy Tan and Samantha Wong clinched a silver medal. In Badminton (pictured), the Women's Doubles pair of Shinta M Sari and Yao Lei beat their Thai opponents 2-1 to enter the finals. And in Cue Sports, Charlene Chai defeated Iris Ranola of the Philippines in her event's semi-finals.