Yong Yi Xiang's biggest critic is himself and, after a disappointing outing at October's World Wushu Championships in Shanghai, he returned to Singapore frustrated and filled with self-doubt.

It was a low period in his sporting career, he admitted yesterday, but it also made him determined to bounce back.

The road to recovery began at the World Trade Centre in Manila as he clinched the men's changquan title with 9.70 points, ahead of Malaysian Wong Weng Son (9.68) and Vietnam's Tran Xuan Hiep (9.60). Yong's compatriot and defending champion Jowen Lim (9.53) was sixth.

Yong, eighth in the 10-man field to perform, had a nervous 10-minute wait after his 100-second routine. Only after Malaysia's Yeap Wai Kin and Indonesian Edgar Xavier Marvelo had completed theirs was Yong, the winner in Singapore 2015, confirmed as champion again.

The 25-year-old, who was inspired to pick up wushu after watching films staring martial arts stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li, said: "When I received my score, I was in shock and disbelief.

"There was definitely some anxiety (while waiting) but I'm just glad that I managed to perform to my normal training standard, which was something I wasn't able to do at my previous competition."

That his was also Singapore's first gold at the Philippines Games made his day even sweeter.

He said: "It took a while to wrap my head around it.

"It is a great honour; it's every athlete's dream to fly our country's flag high at these competitions."

Team manager and former wushu world champion Vincent Ng paid tribute to his work ethic, saying: "He is a very hard-working athlete and expects a lot from himself.

"After the disappointment in Shanghai, he was mentally well-adjusted today and didn't have a lot of pressure.

"It'll definitely give him more confidence in the rest of the events."

Coach Zhang Feng was also impressed by his charge's display and added: "Martial arts is not about playing against others, but against oneself and he did it today.

"He really showed a great fighting spirit to win today."

Getting over the world meet, where Yong finished 23rd out of 88 competitors, required a lot of support from those closest to him.

"People around me encouraged me, they placed no blame on me at all and I really found the strength to bounce back," he said.

There was also positive self-talk, he noted. "I would tell myself, 'This isn't a technique problem, you just have to be confident and execute it and trust your muscle memory... This is not just for yourself, this is for everybody who has supported and believed in you."

He will be competing today in daoshu and gunshu and in tomorrow's duilian final.

He said: "This gold medal has given me my confidence back.

"I'm now focusing on what I have to do to keep myself on track physically and mentally and work it into competition."