SINGAPORE — Former badminton world champion Ratchanok Intanon spearheaded Thailand's win in the women's team final on Friday, earning one of the 16 gold medals that helped the country overtake Singapore atop the SEA Games medal standings.
The 2013 world champion won the opening match 21-13, 21-14 against Malaysia's Lim Yin Fun, setting the powerful Thai team on course for a 3-0 win in the best-of-five gold-medal match.
Thailand also led the men's team final 2-1 but Indonesia rallied to win the last two games for the gold medal, with Ihsan Maulana Mustofa clinching the decider 20-22, 21-16, 21-9 against Avihingsanon Suppanyu.
Singapore had a big lead on the medal table heading into the seventh day of official competition with 66 gold medals — nine clear of Vietnam, and 11 ahead of Thailand.
But Thailand surged into the lead with 71 gold medals, including all four in golf, and seven of the last 10 in track and field, capping off the programme with back-to-back victories in the men's and women's 4x100-metre relays.
Singapore was next with 70 golds — already a national record at the SEA Games — heading into the weekend. Vietnam slipped from second to third spot with 62 golds, followed by Malaysia (38), Indonesia (33), Philippines (24) and Myanmar (11).
Cambodia was in eighth place with one gold medal and 12 overall, while Laos, Brunei and East Timor were yet to top the podium.
The Thai team dominated track and field with 17 gold medals, with Vietnam finishing on 11 and Indonesia on seven, including Rini Budiarti's victory in the women's 3,000-metre steeplechase for her third consecutive SEA Games title in the event.
The 32-year-old Budiarti hit the barrier and crashed heavily into the water midway through the race, and admitted it unsettled for a while, but she had a big enough lead to ensure she could regain her composure to win in 10 minutes, 20.40 seconds.
The youngest-ever winner of a SEA Games gold medal added another one to her collection on Friday, with 11-year-old Aaliyah Yoong winning the women's tricks gold medal in waterskiing for Malaysia — she won the title in 2011, at the age of 8, when the games were in Indonesia.
Her 9-year-old brother, Aiden Yoong, took bronze in the men's tricks final and finished two places above his 38-year-old brother Alex Yoong, the former Formula One driver.
Malaysia also won the men's and women's team bowling finals, beat Thailand 3-1 in the women's field hockey final, and cyclist Harrif Saleh won the men's criterium.
With athletics completed, the men's football semifinals take over the 55,000-seat National Stadium on Saturday, with Indonesia playing for its international survival against 14-time champion Thailand, and Vietnam taking on Myanmar.
"Tomorrow is a very important ... because we are currently in the middle of a crisis," Indonesia assistant coach Muhamad al Hadad said of an international suspension by Fifa from all competitions that will take full effect after Indonesia's exit in Singapore.
"So the people of Indonesia have a lot of expectations on this team, the focus is immense.
"In recent times, we may not have defeated Thailand but with the suspension from Fifa looming over us ... our performance level is at a peak right now. So certainly the boys are pumped up to do the country proud."
Thailand won all five of its group games, scoring 16 goals and conceding one, and coach Choketawee Promrut said he was confident he had the lineup to handle the passion that Indonesia will inevitably bring into the semifinal.