Lim-Prasad fights back for silver
Early in her SEA Games women's 400m hurdles final, Dipna Lim-Prasad saw Thailand's three-time champion Wassana Winatho overtake her.
But the Singaporean kept her cool and focused on her own race.
And, as the pair leapt over the penultimate row of hurdles, 24-year-old Lim-Prasad found an extra gear to tear away from 34-year-old Wassana, and claim the silver medal in 59.24 seconds.
The time was a national record, bettering her own previous mark of 59.59 and, in the process, she also improved on her bronze-medal finish at the last SEA Games in Myanmar in 2013.
Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Huyen won the race in 56.15, a SEA Games record, while Wassana settled for bronze after finishing in 1min 1.69sec.
Lim-Prasad admitted she suffered pre-race jitters, and dedicated her medal to the late hurdler Zaki Sapari, who died in a motorcycle accident in February last year.
"Naturally, it was a bit stressful having a home crowd expecting me to do well... so it was like a run for everyone who wants to walk this path, including Zaki, who really wanted to run here at this SEA Games," said Lim-Prasad, who is sponsored by Tiger Balm.
"I've been injured (with a hamstring problem) for two-and-a-half months and, in that time, I've hurdled only six times, including this race, so my preparation was not ideal.
"But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, running on home ground at the National Stadium. I just gave it my all and I'm glad it paid off."
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