The fifth ASEAN School Games closes yesterday in Ha Noi.

The hosts dominated the nine sports organised at the fifth Games.

Viet Nam exceeded their goal of finishing second in the medals table, finishing on top with 50 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze medals.

Malaysia were second with 25 golds, 30 silvers and 30 bronzes, followed by Thailand who grabbed 24 gold, 31 silver and 33 bronze medals.

None of delegations went home empty-handed.

"The Games were a success with Viet Nam hosting them for the first time and welcoming a record number of participating countries and competitors," said Ngu Duy Anh, deputy head of the ASEAN Schools Games organising board, at the press briefing yesterday.

"Viet Nam topped the table thank to the efforts of our young athletes who showed a vast improvement from the previous Games."

The host's success was mainly attributed to the swimmers who had previously never won a gold medal between them, but this year claimed nine.

The pencak silat martial artists were also heroes with 16 gold medals, three higher than last year in Indonesia.

"It is the second time that pencak silat has been included in the ASG, and our athletes did much better then expected because we faced strong rivals. They did a great job," said coach Tran Kim Tuyen of Viet Nam.

Track and field athletes also did well with 14 golds.

The Viet Nam ASG kicked off on Sunday with the participation of more than 1,500 athletes and officials from eight delegations. They return home today after enjoying one of four tours around Ha Noi and its surrounding areas.

At the closing ceremony yesterday, the official flag of the Games was given to a representative from the Philippines who will host the next annual event.

Vietnamnews