Story by Nicole Lum and Carissa Tan/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports

SEA Games Athletics

Jannah Wong (right) of Singapore in action during the women’s 100m hurdles final. She clocked 14.28 seconds to finish sixth. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)

National Stadium, Thursday, June 11, 2015 — Singapore’s Jannah Wong and Nur Izlyn kicked off their SEA Games debut by finishing sixth and seventh in the women’s 100m hurdles final, clocking times of 14.28 seconds and 16.95s respectively.

For Jannah, her 14.28s was 0.14s off her personal best (PB) of 14.14s, which is also the national record for the event.

Nonetheless, the 18-year-old was still satisfied with her performance. “My first hurdle wasn’t so good so the rest of the hurdles weren’t as good either. But I’m still quite happy that I managed a 14.2 after a hamstring injury,” Jannah explained.

“I only had two races this year… so I’m actually quite glad that I’m almost near my PB after coming back from injury,” she added.

“It feels good on home ground as it pushes me to run harder,” said Jannah on the ‘eye-opening’, home ground experience.

Teammate Izlyn also had to settle for less due to an injury that she sustained a month back. The debutant stumbled on her first hurdle, and subsequently tried to maintain her pace all the way until the end.

“My injury prevents me from running properly, technique-wise,” she said.

Although Izlyn’s time was 1.88s slower than her 15.07s PB, her run was more than enough for the Singaporean crowd as they cheered her on until she crossed the finish line.

The gold medal for the women’s 100m hurdles went to Thailand’s Wallapa Punsoongneun who clocked a season’s best of 13.56s. Dedeh Erawati of Indonesia took the silver with 13.61s, while Vietnam’s Tran Thi Yen Hoa settled for bronze in 13.64s.

The Games Record of 12.85s, which is held by Thailand’s Trecia Roberts remains unbeaten since 1999.

Meanwhile, in the men’s 110m hurdles, Singapore’s Ang Chen Xiang and Awyong Liang Qi unfortunately did not qualify for the final.

However, Chen Xiang posted a stellar time of 14.38s to break his previous national record of 14.44s that was set in April. Liang Qi on the other hand missed his PB by 0.11s to eventually clock 15.13s.

“I think I started off well and my first two hurdles were good. Unfortunately after that I think my mechanics went a little off so I started to slow down at the end,” explained Chen Xiang. “But overall it was a very good race. There was great competition and the crowd was good, cheering me on.”

On his national record, Chen Xiang said: “I’m honoured to be holding the national record. I hope that with the timings getting faster, it will inspire younger athletes to take up this event and hopefully the records will start falling even faster.”

The men’s 110m final saw Thailand’s Jamras Rittidet run a 13.69s race to shatter his previous Games record by 0.03s. The silver went to Wan Sofian Rayzam Shah of Malaysia who finished in 13.97s, while Philippines’ Patrick Ma. Unso picked up the bronze with a PB of 14.12s.

Women’s 100m Hurdles Final Results
1st Wallapa Punsoongneun (THA) – 13.56s (SB)
2nd Dedeh Erawati (INA) – 13.61s
3rd Tran Thi Yen Hoa (VIE) – 13.64s
4th Emilia Nova (INA) – 13.78s
5th Raja Nursheena Raja Azhar (MAS) – 13.88s
6th Wong Min Jannah (SIN) – 14.28s
7th Nur Izlyn Zaini (SIN) – 16.95s

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