Games-Memorable moments from the 28th Southeast Asian Games

By John O'Brien SINGAPORE, June 16 (Reuters) - The 28th Southeast Asian Games ended in Singapore after 12 days of action where more than 4,000 athletes from 11 countries battled for 401 gold medals. Here are some of the unforgettable moments. - - - - Swimming: Joseph Schooling's nine gold-medal haul Every host nation craves a local hero and Joseph Schooling lit up the OCBC Aquatics Centre for six consecutive nights, beaming his photogenic smile on the top step of the podium an unfathomable nine times from as many events. The Texas-based phenomenon set Games records in every event he won, laid down qualifying times for the World Championships and next year's Olympics, as the 19-year-old announced himself as a serious medal contender for the Rio Games. - - - - Swimming: Myanmar's 11-year-old Lei Maw wins admirers For every Joseph Schooling there's a Lei Maw and although the tiny swimmer from Myanmar finished a distant last in all but one of the six races she entered, her efforts earned her the respect and sympathy of those who saw her compete. "They are so fast and I am the slowest one," said the swimmer, who celebrated her 11th birthday during the Games. "I want to be better than the slowest one." Despite her commitment to swimming, Lei Maw remains very much like any other girl of her age. "I like to watch TV, play games, read books and listen to music, but not training... it's too tiring," she added. - - - - Badminton: Epic point decides thrilling mixed doubles final Southeast Asia has deep stocks of world class badminton players and although a few of the very best opted to prepare for the World Championships in August elsewhere, the SEA Games still attracted a high-class field of shuttlers. The mixed doubles was the final event on the final day of competition and it produced a classic as Indonesia's Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto saved three match points before edging Malaysia's Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying 18-21 21-13 25-23. The world number 11 pairing were taken the distance by the former third-ranked duo, with Goh coming back from a year off following double knee surgery, before Praveen sealed the contest with a booming smash at the end of a 27-shot rally that would take star billing on any highlight reel. - - - - Boxing: Eumir Felix Marcial's stunning knockout punch For every star that wanes a new one is born and 19-year-old welterweight Eumir Felix Marcial could be the man Filipino boxing fans hope can fill the void likely to be left by eight-weight world champion Manny Pacquaio when he retires. Marcial was the first boxer from his nation to win a junior world title in 2011 and he looked every inch a future professional champion as he stormed to gold, knocking out local hope Jia Wei Tay with a stunning left hook in their final bout. The southpaw oozed class as he set Tay up for the knockout, stalking him around the ring with a display of controlled boxing that showed off a full array of devastating combinations and a ringcraft that belied his years. - - - - Marathon: Ashley Liew's commendable sportsmanship Singapore marathon runner Ashley Liew had no regrets in slowing down to an almost stop to allow his fellow competitors, who had followed the wrong route, a chance to recover. Liew found himself leading the field early in the race after his rivals took a wrong turn but instead of taking advantage of his 50-metre lead, he opted to wait for them before eventually finishing eighth after an amazing show of sportsmanship. (Editing by Julian Linden)