Singapore happy, Vietnam imperious
There was much excitement at the Bishan Sports Hall yesterday, when the Singapore men won a team bronze in artistic gymnastics.
They became the first team from Singapore to win a medal in the event at the South-east Asia (SEA) Games.
Captain Gabriel Gan, 29, said: "It was a very close fight with the Thais, but it's an achievement for men's gymnastics in Singapore, and we're setting a new record.
"We are the pioneers, and that's very important for the younger generation."
With a combined score of 318.100 points, Singapore were a mere 0.05 points behind the Thai men.
Vietnam were streets ahead of everyone else, claiming gold with 344.700 points.
In a remarkable display, the Vietnamese men dominated all six disciplines, with all five team members finishing one-to-five in each of them.
Vietnam's coach and former captain of the team in the 2011 SEA Games, Truong Minh Sang, said, "I'm so happy with the performance today."
Gymnastics was not on the programme for the 2013 Myanmar Games, so the team had to wait four years to show what they could do.
Olympic veteran Pham Pham Phuoc Hung, 26, the current team captain, was outstanding in all six events, finishing No. 1 out of all 35 gymnasts in each of them yesterday.
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