KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia achieved a 1-2-3 finish in the men's 5,000m at the Singapore Open yesterday.
S. Poo Vasanthan won the gold in a time of 15:05.54s, leaving his compatriots, Malaysia Games champion Ikbolasen Kamal Hussain second with 15:07.22 and Daren James Nair third with 15:17.93.
Vasanthan, 25, said they never expected a clean sweep of the podium.
"I don't know when was the last time Malaysian athletes took the top three places in an overseas competition.
"It's a big boost for us ahead of the Phnom Penh Sea Games."
The women's 800m saw a 1-2 finish for Malaysia with Savinder Kaur winning gold (2:11.53) and Hizillawanty Jamain taking silver (2:16.33).
However, Sea Games-bound sprinter Russel Alexander Nasir Taib suffered an injury. The London-based Russel, who clocked the second fastest time (21.27) in the men's 200m heats in the morning, did not complete the final race. This has raised a question mark over his participation in the Phnom Penh Sea Games on May 8-12.
Taking the bronze was Pengiran Aidil Auf Hajam, 18, who clocked 21.36. This has qualified the Sabahan for the Asian Under-20 Championships in Yecheon, South Korea, in June.
Australian Mitchell O'Neill posted 20.95s to win the men's 200m gold while Singapore's Reuben Rainer Lee (21.16s) took the silver.
Nurul Ashikin Abas won the women's long jump gold with a leap of 5.88m. Singapore's Bhavna Gopikrishna (5.56m) and Chuhan Zhong (5.53m) settled for silver and bronze.
Nurul, 23, who has a personal best of 6.92m, said: "I'm now in the right frame of mind for the Sea Games."
Sea Games-bound Jonah Chang Anak Rigan bagged silver in the men's shot put with a throw of 16.50m. But it was way off his personal best of 17.43m, registered at the Philippines Open last month. Chen Yi Chu of Taiwan (16.87m) won the gold while South Korean Jang Jonghyeok (16.40m) settled for bronze.