Southeast asian games: Indonesia hit century of medals

JAKARTA: Hosts Indonesia brought their medals’ tally up to 100 golds at the Southeast Asian Games with four days of competition to play, helping to soften the blow of a shock football loss to arch-rivals Malaysia. The hosts have opened up a seemingly unassailable lead with 112 golds putting them clear at the top of the medals table, with Vietnam well behind with 69 first places and Thailand on 65. Nine golds in pencat silat, an Indonesian martial art, boosted the host’s tally, nudging them over the landmark 100 barrier. But it was a disappointing outing for the host’s under-23 footballers who lost 1-0 to arch-rivals Malaysia.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th,  2011.