Quartet Nguyen Thi Ngoc, Nguyen Thi Hang, Quach Thi Lan and Hoang Thi Minh Hanh came second with a time of 3min 34.77sec, failing to defend their title.

The team ran about five seconds slower than they did in the previous championships in Thailand.

Indian runners made an impressive sprint to finish first with a time of 3:34.18. Sri Lanka came third with 3:36.67.

Meanwhile, in another class, SEA Games champion Nguyen Trung Cuong set a new national record when he competed in the men's 3,000m steeplechase.

Cuong did not manage to enter the top three, but his fifth place position with a time of 8:38.25 became his personal best speed and a national record, beating the former 8:51.16 record he set in a youth tournament in Finland seven years ago.

Vietnamese athletes will compete in the women's 200m and 400m hurdles along with the 5,000m race, as well as the men's and women's 800m, 5,000m and mixed 4x400m races in the next few days./.