Thailand opened the 28th SEA Games with two gold medal wins last night in Singapore, starting the nation off in third place on the medal board.
Table-tennis star Suthasini “Ying” Sawettabut earned the gold for securing victory over Ng Sock Khim from Malaysia last night.
21-year-old Suthasini made some hearts sink by falling short in a 7-11 loss in the first, but stepped her game up to dominate the second set and win 11-5.
The battle continued for five more matches which Suthasini came out ahead in triumph 4-3 (7-11,11-5,11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4), bringing Thailand’s first gold medal for women’s table tennis in 32 years after Patcharin Loysawai’s victory at the 1983 SEA Games.
Another gold was won by Nonthapat Panchan who defeated Vietnam’s Nguyen Minh Quang 15-11 in the men’s individual foil event yesterday.
Currently, Thailand is in the third place with two gold medals, three silvers and seven bronzes while host Singapore tops the chart followed by Vietnam.
Photo: Sport Singapore
