SEA Games 2025: Noah Lim’s flight to fourth consecutive ju-jitsu gold halted in opening round

BANGKOK – Coming into the Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Air Force Academy on Dec 11, Singapore ju-jitsu exponent Noah Lim would have been greeted by a striking monument of four retired fighter jets, including an F-16 Fighting Falcon, positioned flying upwards.

It was a fitting backdrop for the day’s mission at the competition venue for ju-jitsu at the 2025 SEA Games. Lim, already a three-time SEA Games gold medallist, was aiming to soar once more and capture his fourth consecutive title at the biennial event.

But a shock opening round 3-2 defeat by advantage to Marc Alexander Lim of the Philippines in the men’s ne-waza under-69kg meant that the 23-year-old Singaporean’s winning streak was halted.

With scores tied at regulation time, Marc Alexander won by scoring first in sudden death rules. The Filipino, however, went on to be eliminated in the quarter-finals, with Vietnam’s Dang Dinh Tung winning gold.

Lim, who was one of Singapore’s two flag bearers at the Games’ opening ceremony on Dec 9, said: “Of course I’m a little bit disappointed, because I’ve won the SEA Games every single (edition)... in the past few years and this is the first time I’m coming away with nothing.

“But we’re all human. As athletes, we try our best but we can’t always guarantee what’s going to happen on the day itself.

“The level is getting very high and very, very marginal errors can cost the whole match.”

The weight of expectation has been felt this time by Lim, who won a silver at the Ju-jitsu International Federation World Championships in November.

“I definitely felt a lot more pressure because in the first SEA Games, nobody knows who I am, I’m a rookie,” said Lim, a fourth-year medical student at Nanyang Technological University’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine.

“But I’ve won every year, I’m sure my opponents are studying my game and at the same time, I feel a bit of pressure from back home, from my teammates because they’ve trained so hard with me and we’ve put in so much effort. In a sense, even myself, I kind of expect to do well and win the gold.

“So not winning the gold is definitely quite disappointing to me.”

There is one more chance for Lim to keep his medal streak from the Games going, when he competes in the mixed team event on Dec 13.

While Lim’s journey for an individual medal ended early, Games debutant Aacus Ee went the distance for a spot in the ne-waza under-85kg final, but had to settle for a silver.

But his reaction after the loss painted a vivid picture. Ee, 29, crouched down in a quiet area behind the competition zone and broke down in tears.

He was forced to tap out by Dean Roxas of the Philippines, less than a minute into the bout.

This loss, despite it coming against the 2019 Games gold medallist, evidently stung Ee, who beat Thailand’s Sooknatee Suntra and Vito Luis Luzuriaga of the Philippines in the earlier rounds.

Ee said: “Obviously I’m very upset, because I want to do more. We’ve trained very hard for this, so the goal is to always perform at our best. The finals wasn’t my best, I could have done more. The goal is gold or nothing.”

For Ee, who made the Asian Games last 16 in 2023, the result was hard to digest because of the high standards he has set himself.

“I’ve done Asian-level competitions and I know that I’m not too far from the guys at the Asian level,” he said.

“And to me, I have to win this as a bare minimum to make a breakthrough at the Asian level. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t win the finals. I see myself as an Asian-level athlete, and not just a South-east Asian level athlete.”

Beyond being responsible for himself, Ee also takes care of the development of others as head coach at Carpe Diem Singapore, a top academy back home.

Earlier in the day, one of his proteges and fellow Games debutant Kayleigh Lim, 25, battled through the repechage round to win a joint-bronze in the women’s ne-waza under-48kg, edging out compatriot Hong Soo Jin 3-2 by advantage.

Kayleigh credited Ee, saying: “After every single training session, he would help me tinker with ideas on how to better my game”.

She also thanked her training partners, and added: “It (the bronze) means the world. I think I came in here with a lot of respect for my opponents, knowing that they’re seasoned competitors, and this will be my first foray into such a big stage, so being able to podium is incredibly surreal.”

Singapore’s ju-jitsu exponents have won a gold, a silver and a bronze at the Thailand Games. On Dec 10, Jedd Tan won gold in the men’s fighting U-77kg.

At the 2023 edition in Cambodia, they won one gold, one silver and two bronzes, while the tally in Hanoi in 2022 was one gold, one silver and one bronze.