SEA Games 2025: Drama on the mat as taekwondo mixed pair strike first gold for Singapore

BANGKOK – Singapore’s first gold medal at the SEA Games in Thailand came in dramatic fashion on Dec 10, when taekwondo exponents Diyanah Aqidah Dian Khudhairi and Nicholas Khaw had to wait 90 minutes before the results of the mixed recognised poomsae pair final were confirmed.

Though the scores in the exhibition hall at the Fashion Island shopping mall showed that the Singaporean pair had beaten Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Kim Ha and Nguyen Trong Phuc 8.67-8.44, the Vietnamese protested and asked for a review. They felt the Singaporeans should have had points deducted for “two big mistakes”.

However, after a lengthy review, the result stood and Singapore could finally celebrate its first gold at the Games. This was also the nation’s first taekwondo triumph at the biennial meet since 2015, and a first in this event.

Hosts Thailand and the Philippines shared the bronze.

Khaw, 20, who is competing in his second Games, said: “We feel really proud because we worked super hard to get here.

“We hope this gold medal will be an inspiration for other athletes to win more medals for Team Singapore.”

Luckily for Khaw, he was unaware of the protest as he was in the warmup area preparing for the men’s team event. They eventually missed out on the podium after losing to the Philippines in the quarter-finals.

Diyanah, who at 26 is competing at her fifth Games, added: “I just wanted to go out on the mat and enjoy the process. If I put pressure on myself, it will affect my partner too, so I thought to enjoy every round and take things step by step.

“On the mat, we trust each other a lot, and our synchronisation was much better today. We learnt quite a few techniques during our training camp in South Korea to prepare for this meet, and I’m glad we could put it all together.”

Poomsae involves choreographed patterns of attack and defence that simulate fighting imaginary opponents to develop technique, balance, focus and power.

Competing in the dimly lit hall, Khaw and Diyanah shone with their clean and synchronised execution, which helped them beat Laos’ Yotthida Kenphokham and Anouphong Djaniguian 8.41-8.04 in the quarter-finals, and Filipinos Jocel Ninobla and Patrick Perez 8.62-8.52 in the semi-finals.

Nguyen Thu Trang, head of the Vietnam team, told The Straits Times: “Singapore made two big mistakes but the referees did not reduce their points. If they did, maybe Vietnam would have won. I feel sad and disappointed.”

Singapore poomsae head coach Lee Na-lee acknowledged that both teams made mistakes in the final, adding that while she was worried that the result would be overturned, her job was to protect her athletes.

She added: “Nicholas is more powerful, and Diyanah is more flexible, so we had to find a way to help them collaborate and put up the best presentation, and we prepared them well for the different styles for this tournament.”

The Khaw family in the Fashion Island mall stands – and back home – had more to cheer about on Dec 10, when Nicholas’ older sister Nicole clinched silver in the women’s freestyle poomsae individual final. The 26-year-old scored 7.18 points to finish behind Thailand’s Watcharakul Limjitakorn (7.90), while Laos’ Phouttavan Chanthakhammany (1.68) was third.

While she started taekwondo just a month after her brother, the Thailand Games are her first as she has had to cope with serious injuries to both knees.

She said: “It feels so good... but when I watched my brother compete through three rounds and emerge as the winner, I got even more emotional.”

“I had a very hard time recovering and getting injured again, so thankfully, five years after my second injury, I’m still competing and here at my first SEA Games. It’s such an honour to win the silver medal and I hope our performances will inspire more young taekwondo athletes to pick up freestyle poomsae,” she added.

Meanwhile, Darren Yap (7.66 points) claimed a joint-bronze after finishing fourth in the men’s freestyle poomsae individual final behind Filipino Justin Macario (8.20), Thailand’s Atchariya Koedkaew (8.10) and Malaysia’s Chin Ken Haw (7.74).

The 21-year-old said: “I got a team bronze in 2022 but didn’t manage a medal in 2023, so this is like a redemption for me, and it feels like weight lifted off my shoulders with my first individual SEA Games medal. Hopefully, for the next one and in 2029 at home, it will be a different colour.”

At the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, Singapore’s taekwondo representatives returned home with one silver and four bronzes to rank eighth out of 10 participating teams.

There was also joy on the mat for Singapore ju-jitsu, as Jedd Tan claimed gold in the men’s fighting 77kg after overcoming nerves and a month-long slog to cut over 10kg from his 87kg frame.

The 18-year-old said: “The night before, I felt some out of this world confidence. But when I woke up, I felt very not ready... I was just thinking of all the negative scenarios.”

At the Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Air Force Academy, he emerged top in his final after beating Thailand’s Chanwit Aunjai 16-9.

The gold medal was the perfect prize after a painful struggle to lose weight for the event – he previously competed in the men’s 85kg.

“All the struggles of weight cutting – over 10 to 12 kg in one month, it almost killed me,” said Tan.

“Even now my chest, I can also feel that it is quite painful because of the weight cut.”

Tan’s victory in a closely fought battle with the 2022 Asian champion on Dec 10 sparked wild cheers and chants of “Singapura” from the Singapore supporters in the stands.

Singapore high performance manager Fadhli Asad called the win historic, saying: “This is the first time that we have fighting system in ju-jitsu (at the SEA Games), and Jedd got a gold medal for us.”