HA NOI — All eyes were on Ha Noi’s Quan Ngua Sports Palace yesterday as Viet Nam staged a spectacular ceremony to mark the end of the 13th ASEAN University Games.
The festivities drew the curtain on the 7-day multi-sport event, dominated by the host country. The 90-minute extravaganza featured performances by artists from HCM City and a Malaysian dance troupe. Several high-ranking education officials from the Government and the academic sector also attended the finale.
Adressing at the ceremony yesterday, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Tran Van Nhung, thanked the thousands of athletes who took part in the competition. They hailed from nine countries and competed in 12 sports.
Nhung, who is also head of the 13th AUG organising committee, declared the Games closed.
Minister of Education and Training, Nguyen Thien Nhan, handed the 13th ASEAN University Games flag to a representative from Malaysia, which will host the 14th Games in 2008.
The last gold medal of the Games went to Thailand which defeated Laos 4-0 in the football final yesterday. Earlier, Viet Nam earned its last medal after beating Indonesia 2-0 in the third-placed game.
Following competition on Thursday, Viet Nam stood alone atop the medal board with 74 gold, 52 silver and 37 bronze medals.
Thailand finished with 42 golds, 33 silvers and 49 bronzes.
Third place went to Indonesia which pocketed 27 gold, 32 silver and 34 bronze medals after last games yesterday.
