PHNON PENH – Nearly two weeks of triumphs, tears and the occasional tantrum came to an end on Wednesday with the first SEA Games in Cambodia reaching its finale as Vietnam topped the final medals table.

Women’s football gold capped a glittering Games for the Vietnamese, who reigned over the medals table ahead of Thailand and Indonesia.

Cambodia were fourth – the first time in four editions of the biennial Games that the hosts did not come top of the pile, but their 81 golds were a huge improvement for them on recent years.

The sporting action in Phnom Penh came to a chaotic end late on Tuesday when Indonesia beat Thailand in the men’s football final featuring seven goals, won 5-2 by Indonesia, four red cards and two mass brawls.

After the Games opened on May 5, Cambodia claimed their first-ever athletics gold, with Chhun Bunthorn winning the men’s 800m and sparking moving scenes at the finish line as he toasted his late parents.

“I am very emotional,” he said.

“My parents passed away and I miss them greatly. If they were still here, they would have been very happy with my victory.”

There was more emotion on the track when Bou Samnang broke down in tears after crossing the finish line in the women’s 5,000m – all alone and nearly six minutes after the race winner.

Videos of her crying and soaked by rain went viral, and were the defining images of the Games.

“I can say now I’m famous. Although I lost, they support me from the bottom of their hearts,” the 20-year-old told AFP at the Morodok Techo National Stadium, the scene of her unlikely rise to prominence, where passers-by were lining up for photos with her.

With the Asian Games in China beginning in September and the Paris Olympics in 2024, South-east Asia’s world-class athletes got in some crucial competitive action.

Philippine gymnast Carlos Yulo took two golds and two silvers, while compatriot Ernest John Obiena won the pole vault for the third Games running.

Controversial rules imposed by the hosts, however, limited the number of events contested by prolific gymnasts such as Yulo, who won five golds and two silvers at the last Games.

Four of Vietnam’s 136 golds were won by the star of the athletics track Nguyen Thi Oanh, who dominated the women’s 1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m and 3,000m steeplechase.

A 2-0 win over Myanmar in the women’s football final gave them a fourth straight title, and they collected nine golds in gymnastics.

Vietnam did well, too, in combat sports, including in the hosts’ traditional martial art of kun bokator.

Thailand were best overall in athletics, notably sprint king Soraoat Dapbang, who won the men’s 100m and 200m.

While the kingdom’s medal hopes were hobbled by its boycott of kun khmer – objecting to the use of that name for a sport more widely known as muay thai – it did win nine golds in boxing.

The controversial use of the Cambodian name for the “art of the eight limbs” is a testament to how SEA Games rules tend to be kind to the home country.

The Philippines were fifth in the medals table but reclaimed gold in men’s basketball – the sport enjoys huge popularity in the country and is one of the most coveted titles at the Games.

Singapore came sixth, led by their all-conquering swimmers and sprinter Shanti Pereira, who completed a historic double in the women’s 100m and 200m. AFP