Indonesia shine at Southeast Asian Games

Indonesia will look to extend their lead at the top of the medals table at the Southeast Asian Games on Monday aware that a resurgent Thailand have bounced back into contention after a slow start. Indonesia have won 41 golds so far in a total medal haul of 92 from three full days of competition, but Thailand -- table-toppers in the 2009 Games -- have changed gears after an unimpressive opening. The Thais have 21 gold medals with 64 podium finishes, and their athletes go into Monday's events hoping to narrow the gap. Bragging rights went to Indonesia on Sunday after the hosts knocked the woeful Thai under-23 side out of the showpiece football event with a 3-1 win, while the men's badminton side repeated the trick with a semi-final victory. But Thailand has a chance to turn the tables in key events scheduled for Monday, as the pair go head-to-head in the highly-anticipated women's team badminton final. They are also targeting more track glory after bagging seven golds -- including a SEA Games record for Jamras Rittidet in the 110-metre hurdles Sunday -- while the taekwondo, held in co-host city Palembang, should see another gold rush. But the Thais will have their work cut out to eclipse Indonesia, as the home athletes appear determined to take the most medals at the Games for the first time since 1997. Spurred on by boisterous local support, Team Indonesia has been in striking form. Their efforts in karate, athletics and rowing have been richly rewarded, while their U23 football squad have eased into the semi-final after a string of impressive victories. And with the crowd roaring them on at every event with a chorus of "Ayo Indonesia Bisa" -- "Come on Indonesia, we can do it!" -- their athletes have battled back even when failing to emerge on top form. The men's semi-final team badminton on Sunday saw the hosts toil to a 3-2 win over Thailand thanks to a win in the last singles match, keeping alive hopes of a clean sweep in the sport. Vietnam's athletes have also impressed, striking gold 18 times, while dominance of the swimming pool has guided Singapore to a respectable medals tally of 42, 13 of them gold. Only East Timor remains without a medal after four of the contest's eleven days, while regional media have closely followed every twist and turn of the competition. The Bangkok Post lambasted Thailand's footballers as "flops" for tumbling out at the group stage, while Malaysian media has questioned the resolve of their track and field team. The Jakarta Globe on Monday hailed Indonesia's "unstoppable" athletes, although rival nations have been less kind in bemoaning a choice of events -- including bridge -- apparently favourable to the hosts. Indonesia was awarded this year's biennial Games in 2006 but the government has been criticised for failing to release cash to organisers Inasoc to build venues, causing an embarrassing delay to the athletes' village in Palembang.