Singapore, May 21 (VNA) - Patience and perseverance have paid off for Singapore’s athletics contingent at the SEA Games 31, who  returned to the homeland on May 20 with their best total medal haul for almost 30 years, according to The Straits Times.

Singapore’s athletics team picked up 11 medals – one gold, three silvers and seven bronzes at SEA Games 31 in Hanoi, Vietnam, marking a significant improvement from the last edition three years ago in the Philippines, where they picked up just three bronze medals.   

Singapore Athletics (SA) president Lien Choong Luen said this was the result of concerted efforts from the track and field fraternity.

Coaches also make a great contribution when keeping the faith in athletes to overcome difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At SEA Games 31, the host Vietnam continued their dominance of the athletics event, topping the medal tally with 22 golds.  It was followed by Thailand with 12 gold medals and the Philippines with 5 gold medals.

For Singapore, the last time they yielded a double-digit return was SEA Games 1993 on home soil, with 12 medals (one gold, 3 silvers and 8 bronzes)./.