A Viet shock for Andre

No stopping him: Triple jumper Andre Anura Anuar in action during the final.— MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star

BANGKOK: National triple jumper Andre Anura Anuar was visibly frustrated when he walked out of the pit, shaking his head.

“I looked at the wrong man,” he muttered under his breath.

His eyes had been glued all afternoon on Thai favourite Nattapong Srinonta, who he believed would be the biggest threat.

But he did not see the late, stunning charge from Vietnamese jumper Ho Trong Manh Hung, who leapt to 16.33m on his final attempt to snatch the gold medal at the Supachalasai Stadium yesterday.

Andre, the defending champion and national record holder, produced a solid 16.29m, enough for silver but just shy of the gold he wanted. Singapore’s Gabriel Lee settled for bronze with 15.90m.

“The Vietnamese guy, who is new to the scene, overtook me on the final jump. How do I put it ... this event was really high pressure, even for me watching the others,” the Sabahan said.

Andre admitted that he had been studying the Thai jumper all day, knowing Nattapong was enjoying one of the best seasons of his career.

The home favourite had recorded 16.61m earlier this year.

“I was waiting for his last jump. I thought he was the one I had to keep an eye on. But I overlooked Vietnam. I didn’t expect him to pull out a big one at the end,” Andre said.

“When he hit 16.33m, I saw him walk out from the pit, and I still had one jump left. So I tried ... but that was all I could manage.”

The 26-year-old has battled injuries and inconsistency over the past two seasons.

His last 16m jump came at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games, where he won gold with 16.09m.

“It’s been two years. So to finally do it again today - it makes me happy. I’m on the right track,” he said.

“I wanted to get a SEA Games hattrick, like Hakimi (Ismail) did before me. But I failed to defend the title. It’s tough ... of course I’m sad,” he admitted.

“I’ll try to win back the gold medal in 2027,” he said. Andre will compete in the long jump on Saturday.

Meanwhile, in the women’s pole vault, 2021 SEA Games gold medal winner Nor Sarah Adi finished last with a jump of 3.6m.