Khamla Xaiyavong became the first Lao shooter to win two gold medals at the SEA Games when she rose to the top spot in the women’s 10m individual . . .

Bull’s eye: Khamla Xaiyavong is surrounded by journalists after she becomes the first Lao shooter to win two gold medals at the SEA Games.

“I’m so happy to see the host of the SEA Games win. The gold medal is special for me and the country,” Khamla said.

She said she was proud of the achievements she has made in her sport career.

“I began the sport four years ago on advice from my father, who is retired from the Army. I’m the youngest of a family with five boys and I decided to join the Army as my father suggested,” Khamla said.

“I made a great decision four years ago and now the sport has brought me this glorious victory today,” the Army officer said.

The 22-year-old athlete, who also won a gold medal at the Southeast Asian Shooting Championships (SEASA) in Thailand last month, trained in Ha Noi for six months.

Under the coaching of Vietnamese Le Minh Hien, the Lao shooting team has made significant progress in just a few months.

“Khamla is one of Laos’ elite athletes. She won a SEASA gold after only four years of training. Lao athletes are hard-working sports-people at practice. They learn experiences and skills from coaches very fast,” Hien said.

This was the first time in the 50 year history of SEA Games that Laos sent a shooting team to the biggest biannual regional sporting event.

Coach Hien also said the Lao shooters did their best in tough competitions against Thailand and Viet Nam.

“They exceeded expectation at the SEA Games. Laos are strong in petanque (boules), boxing and Thai Muamay, but shooting is a new sport for them,” she said.

“Today’s gold medal is evidence of a great endeavour by Lao shooters at the SEA Games. The result will lure more Lao supporters to sport venues in Vientiane for the second week of the SEA Games,” Hien added.

Khamla, who was born in Xiengkhuang, 400km north of the Lao capital, said she still remembers the days she trained in Viet Nam.

“I was homesick when I was staying at the sport centre in Ha Noi. I did not have the chance to visit many of the city’s beautiful attractions because I was too busy with training,” she said.

“It was so quiet at the training camp on Saturdays and Sundays, but my teammates and I did not stop practising because we had promised ourselves the best result at the SEA Games. And today the dream came true.”

“I used to eat instant noodles with beef on weekends. I enjoy traditional Vietnamese cookings such as pho (rice noodle soup with beef or chicken) and nem (spring roll). It’s an unforgettable memory for me during my time in Viet Nam. I received a lot of assistance from Vietnamese athletes and coaches at the training centre. They helped me overcome the difficulties of life away from home,” Khamla said.

“I’ll return to Ha Noi someday. It’s one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen.”

She also said she visited Ha Long Bay and Tam Dao mountain resort with the Vietnamese shooting team last year.

Khamla will compete in other shooting events this week.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News