Singapore won its first gold medal at the 16th Pencak Silat World Championships in Phuket on Friday, taking its tally to one gold, three silvers, and three bronzes at the competition.

Sheik Farhan Sheik Alau'ddin, making his debut at the event, was far from overawed at the Saphan Hin Sports Centre. The 17-year-old beat Vietnam's Mach Quoc Hung 3-2 in the Class J (90-95kg) final. He had defeated Malaysia's Azrul Abdullah 4-1 in the semi-final on Wednesday.

Farhan, whose father is ex-national silat exponent and former world champion Sheik Alau'ddin, had been nursing a shin injury, but recovered in time to claim the world title.

The Republic's 20-man squad return from Phuket on Saturday afternoon.