SEA Games 2025: Eight of the best and worst moments

BANGKOK – As the 33rd SEA Games drew to a close on Dec 20, The Straits Times’ team on the ground David Lee, Deepanraj Ganesan, Melvyn Teoh, Gavin Foo and Brian Teo relived the highs and lows of the action in Thailand. Here are ST’s picks for the event’s moments to remember.

Inspiring the world

National records, and occasionally Asian marks, are broken at the SEA Games. Though at what is sometimes called the “kampung Games”, five world records are certainly not on the bingo card.

But the weightlifters did not get the memo as Indonesia’s

Rizki Juniansyah set two world records

with a clean-and-jerk of 205kg and his 365kg total in the men’s 79kg category on Dec 15.

The Thais also got in on the act when Paris Olympics silver medalist Weeraphon Wichuma bettered world marks with his clean-and-jerk lift of 195kg and overall 347kg in the men’s 71kg category, while compatriot Theerapong Silachai also set a clean-and-jerk world record of 173kg en route to the men’s 60kg title. 

Deepanraj Ganesan

Biggest breakthrough

For the longest time, no South-east Asian had managed to break the 10-second barrier in the century sprint. Until 19-year-old Thai sprint sensation Puripol Boonson

came along to smash that glass ceiling

in 9.94sec at the Supachalasai Stadium on Dec 11.

In the heats, from Lane 2, without any notable challenge, for arguably the most show-stopping moment of these Games.

Melvyn Teoh

Teen titans

The SEA Games are not for the faint-hearted.

So, it was heartening to see Singapore’s teenagers dominate or hold their own against seasoned campaigners to summit the podium.

There were the 19-year-olds – Olympic medallist kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder’s

perfect run on his debut

, Izaac Quek retaining his table tennis triple crowns, and Marissa Hafezan ending Singapore’s 32-year karate gold-medal drought.

At 18, coke-sipping fencer Elle Koh is already a champion at three SEA Games, while ju-jitsu’s Jedd Tan lost 10kg to make weight and win his first gold. Then there was 17-year-old artistic swimmer Yvette Chong who overcame a wrist injury to win, and 16-year-old archer Tabitha Yeo who mastered the wind.

And who can forget 14-year-old swimmer Julia Yeo, a last-minute relay replacement who competed with a borrowed swimsuit, cap and goggles and still contributed to a meet record.

Thanks to these teen titans, the future of Singapore sports looks brighter.

David Lee

Best comeback

Take a bow, Amita Berthier.

The two-time women’s foil individual champion was just a point away from a surprise semi-final elimination (8-14) on Dec 17, when she

scored seven consecutive points

to beat the Philippines’ Samantha Catantan in a fightback so astonishing that the Filipino fans applauded after they picked up their jaws from the floor.

The sensational victory was made sweeter when she went on to claim her third title after defeating compatriot and defending champion Maxine Wong in the final.

Deepanraj Ganesan

Oh, my heart

The Games proved difficult for team sports, as only the men’s water polo team secured gold while other teams endured devastating losses.

The men’s softball team were usurped by the Philippines, whose ace pitcher Jehanz Coro

launched absolute bullets for a 3-0 win

, while the women’s floorball team saw their unbeaten streak end at three after a 2-1 loss to Thailand. In the netball final, Singapore led by six goals, only to be pipped 52-49 by defending champions Malaysia.

One of the most emotional moments came from Amanda Lim, who

reclaimed her title as South-east Asia’s fastest female swimmer

and dedicated it to her father, who died of liver cancer in September.

Melvyn Teoh

Controversy a winner

Where do we start? In pencak silat, a referee

was attacked by the Malaysian team

who were unhappy with what they felt was unfair officiating in a bout against Thailand, while the hosts’ muay thai head coach alleged rigging after a loss to Malaysia.

Then, Thailand’s e-sports player Warasin “Tokyogurl” Naraphat was hit with a lifetime ban after she was found to have used unauthorised third-party software and manipulated competition equipment.

In football, Laotian assistant referee Phutsavan Chanthavong disallowed a clearly legitimate Vietnam goal for offside in the women’s final against the Philippines, while Thailand had to apologise to Vietnam for restarting the men’s bowling semi-final that had already commenced due to a pairing error.

David Lee

Early Xmas gift

Even though they did not hit their target of 261 golds, Christmas still came early for hosts Thailand, who topped the medal table with an astounding 233 golds, 154 silvers and 112 bronzes to surpass Vietnam’s previous record of 205-125-116 in 2022.

Ju-jitsu was Thailand’s biggest gold mine as they raked in 14 golds, 11 silvers and five bronzes across 18 events, while boxing (14 from 17 events), muay thai (11 out of 18), canoeing (10 out of 15) and cycling (10 out of 17) also contributed double figures, and they also won every gold on offer in woodball (six) and teqball (five).

Gavin Foo

What a shame

Witnessing the SEA Games opening ceremony in person for the first time, nothing quite prepared me from the unfolding of waves of colour, music and motion as athletes marched in with their flags raised.

Part spectacle, part shared pride, there was an energy in the stadium that is impossible to replicate elsewhere.

But hours later,

Cambodia withdrew their entire delegation

, citing serious safety concerns and urgent pleas from athletes’ families for their return following clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border.

While Cambodia are not sports powerhouses, the SEA Games are not complete without everyone at the party.

Brian Teo