•  SEA Games 26: Vietnam in top three

Host Indonesia strongly dominated the games by winning 182 gold medals. Thailand and Vietnam ranked in second and third with 109 and 96 golds, respectively.

“Harmony in Victory” was the theme of the closing ceremony which interpreted the emerging power of Southeast Asian nations symbolized by the athletes’ achievements and the unification of various cultures in harmony. A colossal dance performance featuring 600 dancers was inspired by traditional dances from Southeast Asia.

A Myanmar cultural performance was held to give support to the country as the next host of the SEA Games in 2013, and a Farewell Act gave the athletes a chance to look back on their time at the Games.

In the Farewell Act, four athletes from each participating country showed off their friendship in harmonious victory. Many Indonesian singers such as Agnes Monica, Afgan and Giring ‘Nidji’ joined in the event with stunning performances to celebrate the closing of the Games.

Indonesia’ Vice President Boediono officially closed the Games before the Southeast Asian Games Federation flag was handed over to representatives from Myanmar.

The only sadness of the biennial regional festival was the death of two Indonesian football fans who perished in a stampede in Jakarta on the night of November 21 at the final against Malaysia. Several other spectators were taken to hospital, including a nine-year-old boy who had fallen into a coma.

This year’s Games marked the Vietnamese team’s most successful foray since they hosted the 22^nd SEA Games in 2003.

The squad’s 600 athletes fulfilled their target of coming third in the medal tally, just as they promised at their sending-off ceremony in Hanoi earlier this month.

A commendable effort on the part of all the athletes, the country competed in 36 disciplines, winning 96 gold, 92 silver and 100 bronze medals.