Singapore clinched its first gold medal of the 2025 Thailand SEA Games on Wednesday (Dec 10), with taekwondo exponents Diyanah Aqidah Muhammad Dian Khudhairi and Nicholas Khaw triumphing in the mixed recognised poomsae pair event. The gold was also the first for the Republic at the SEA Games since Chelsea Sim and Kang Rui Jie won in the women’s and men’s individual poomsae events in 2015.
“It feels incredible, and I’m very proud to bring home the first gold medal for Singapore. It has been 10 years since Singapore Taekwondo last won a SEA Games gold, so being able to contribute to that history means a lot to me. This medal represents the hard work of my coaches, teammates, and everyone who has supported me,” Diyanah said after her historic win.
The duo opened their campaign at Island Hall in Bangkok’s Fashion Island Shopping Mall with an 8.41–8.04 win over Laos before edging past the Philippines 8.62–8.52 to book their place in the final. They capped their run in style, overcoming Vietnam 8.67–8.44 to secure the top step of the podium.
Diyanah previously won bronze in the mixed pair event with Ranen Fong and silver in the women’s individual category at the 2023 edition, but the gold this time was a “special” one.
“It feels really special. In 2023, winning bronze and silver motivated me to keep pushing because I knew I was close. Standing on the top of the podium this time is a reminder that the sacrifices, tough training, and lessons from the past two years have paid off. It’s a milestone I’ve been working towards, and I’m grateful to achieve it.”
For Khaw, hearing the national anthem while atop the podium was a memory to cherish.
“It really felt like all our hard work over the past year had come to fruition. I felt really proud when I got to sing the National Anthem in front of everyone on the podium.”
The pair will be looking to medal at next year’s Asian and World Championships.
“This win solidified our trust in each other, and has boosted our confidence in our skills, because we learnt new skills in our previous training camps, and we were doing our best to merge our styles and rhythms so that we could show everyone a synchronous performance.
“We will continue training together and honing our skills with this confidence boost, aiming for more medals in the upcoming years.”
Earlier in the day, in the taekwondo freestyle poomsae events, Darren Yap claimed a joint bronze in the men’s individual category, scoring 7.660 to finish third out of seven competitors.
In the women’s final, Nicole Alethea Khaw secured silver with a 7.180 score, placing second in a three-athlete field.
