REPORTING FROM MYANMAR
Heading into this year’s Southeast Asia Games in Myanmar, Singapore sprinter Dipna Lim-Prasad’s season’s best in the 400m hurdles was, at 60.36s, a good two seconds behind her Vietnamese and Thai counterparts.
Few would have given the 22-year-old a chance at a medal, but Lim-Prasad stunned the watching crowd at Wunna Theikdi stadium when she strode home to take bronze in 59.96s – a personal best, national record, and the first-ever podium finish by a Singaporean in the event.
It has also been 16 years since any woman from Singapore won a track medal at the SEA Games. In 1997, both marathoner Toh So Liang and the 4x100m relay team took bronze in their respective events.
“I didn’t do as well as I hoped,” said a breathless Lim-Prasad, even though she earned her notable achievement by a clear four seconds away from fourth-placed Panida Rattanachan of Thailand.
The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student could have gone even faster, she said, had she not been “shuffling” her feet as much to brace for each hurdle.
Vietnam’s Thi Lan Quach also gave the field an early scare by surging forward on the very first straight, causing Lim-Prasad to “panic” a little.
“I just tried to keep up with the front two as best I could, but died as usual in the final stretch,” she joked.
Gold went to Thailand’s Wassana Winatho in 58.85s while Thi settled for silver in a dramatic ending that saw both tumbling to the ground at the finish line and later being stretchered off.
“I really wanted to do Singapore proud as a flag-bearer,” said Lim-Prasad. “And it feels good to break the 60s barrier – now to focus on the relay and hopefully continue our medal streak.”
Job done?
Earlier Singapore’s Amirudin Jamal snagged a bronze in the 100m sprint with a timing of 10.55s, losing out on silver by 0.04s to Iswandi Iswandi of Indonesia, while gold went to Thailand’s Jirapong Meenapra in 10.48s.
Last Games silver-medallist Gary Yeo from Singapore finished in fifth position.
The third runner in Tuesday’s 4x100m relay, Jirapong effectively tore away from silver-medallists Singapore to grant Thailand victory by – you guessed it – 0.04s, again.
“I came to the Games with a ranking of fourth (in 100m), so to get a medal is a job well done,” said Amirudin, whose personal best is 10.46s. “Still, I’m disappointed not to have gotten second.”
The 26-year-old full-time athlete also said this demonstrated that the professional training received by Singapore’s male sprinters was proving successful.
Later, Amirudin’s counterpart in the centurion sprint, Shanti Veronica Pereira, clocked an admirable 11.99s to finish fourth, just 0.08s behind bronze medallist Tassaporn Wannakit of Thailand.
Gold went to Vietnam’s Vu Thi Huong, who recorded a 11.59s timing even after two false starts that caught Shanti “a bit off guard”.
“I was hoping to break the record,” said Shanti, 17, the youngest competitor in her event at the Games. “Now I’m just happy to go below 12s.”
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