May 11, 2023, 04:56 PM
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Singaporean hurdler Ang Chen Xiang was initially judged to have narrowly missed out on a gold medal by two-thousandths of a second in the 110m hurdles event at the 32nd SEA Games.
However, the decision was overturned about three hours later, and Ang was ultimately awarded joint-gold in the event, sharing the honours with Thailand’s Natthaphon Dansungnoen.
For his effort, the 28-year-old athlete clinched Singapore's first gold medal in the event in 56 years.
The last Singaporean man to win the 110m hurdles at the SEA Games was Osman Merican in 1967.
The close finish
In the race, Ang was quick out of the blocks, and took an early lead.
Dansungnoen, however, caught up incredibly well, while the Philippines' John Cristopher Cabang Tolentino was in the mix too.
It was neck-and-neck as the three frontrunners neared the finish line.
This made for a beautiful photo finish.
From top: Tolentino (in blue), Ang (in pink), Dangsunoen (in red). Image via screenshot on MeWatch.
After the race, Ang and Dangsunoen were seen exchanging handshakes and laughing.
He and the Thai athlete have formed a friendship after being training partners for the past six weeks in Thailand.
When his competitor pointed at him, perhaps to ask if he won, Ang merely shrugged.
In the standings, however, Dangsunoen (13.832 sec) was initially announced as the winner over Ang (13.834 sec), with Tolentino taking home the bronze (13.855 sec).
Image from screenshot on MeWatch.
Ang later told the Straits Times that when he crossed the finish line, he wasn't sure who came first or second, but was proud of his performance.
"Win or lose, we are all extremely happy because we [got] to push each other to the next level, and [we are looking ahead] to the Asian Games, which the SEA Games serves as a stepping stone for," he shared.
Upgraded to gold
Within 30 minutes of the initial decision being announced, Singapore Athletics protested the ruling, according to The Straits Times.
They claimed that the photo finish wasn't conclusive enough to determine a clear winner and that the two pictures taken from different angles showed a different winner.
UPDATE: Joint-gold medal award to Chen Xiang and the Thai athlete, after protest by Singapore Athletics. Protest rejected, went to jury, Jury convened and awarded joint-gold. Photo finish wasn’t conclusive in determining clear winner https://t.co/O3A8qm2Uid
— Matthew Mohan (@MatthewMohanCNA) May 10, 2023
The initial protest was rejected, but the case was taken to an independent jury.
After consideration, the jury ruled that the difference in timing between the two contestants was too close to call.
The updated result showed that Ang and Dangsunoen clocked in at identical timings of 13.831 sec.
Speaking to CNA after he received the joyful news, Ang expressed that his focus was on continual improvement.
"I'm definitely very happy to get the gold ... But more importantly, it is really the personal best, the improvement in timing that matters to me," he said.
“From happy, I’ve become happier, that’s the best way to put it.”
Apart from clinching the gold, Ang also set a new national record, bettering the previous mark of 13.89 sec that he set in April.
It is his 12th national record to date.
Top image via sgolympics on Instagram.
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