Gong Qianyun wins Singapore's historic SEA Games gold in chess
Grandmaster Gong Qianyun won Singapore's first gold medal in chess at the SEA Games yesterday.
The 34-year-old's victory in the rapid chess category also turned out to be the Republic's 900th gold medal at the biennial multi-sport meet, which started in 1959.
Gong, a mother of two, topped a 10-strong field at the Traveler's Hotel in Subic. Indonesia's Fisabilillah Ummi and Sukandar Irine took the silver and bronze respectively.
Gong, who was born in China, arrived in Singapore in 2009 to work as a chess coach and became a citizen after marrying a local.
She is Singapore's only chess representative at these Games.
Lin Ye replaces the injured Yu Mengyu
Singapore paddler Yu Mengyu, 30, has pulled out of the SEA Games due to a back injury, the Singapore Table Tennis Association said in a media release yesterday.
The world No. 52 will be replaced by the 63rd-ranked Lin Ye in the singles and doubles events. The other members of the women's team are world No. 9 Feng Tianwei and debutantes Goi Rui Xuan and Wong Xin Ru.
Lin Ye, 23, was part of the side that won the team event at the last three Games. She also partnered Zhou Yihan to the women's doubles gold at the last edition in Kuala Lumpur.
The table tennis competition starts on Friday at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center.
Young Lions crash out of SEA Games after 1-0 loss to Vietnam
The Young Lions crashed out of the SEA Games football tournament yesterday after Ha Duc Chinh's winner five minutes from time saw Group B leaders Vietnam secure a 1-0 win at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
The Young Lions did well against Asia's second-best Under-23 side until Ha headed home an 85th-minute corner for his fifth goal of the Games.
Singapore are second-last in the group on one point after four matches, with no goals scored and one match left.
Said coach Fandi Ahmad: "We're disappointed because this was our best game... The result could have gone either way... If we had played this way in the first three games, we could have been fighting for a semi-final (spot).
"We had some chances in the first half, I don't think they had any chances. They are the best team in the group.
"We made only one mistake, giving away the corner that decided the game."
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