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Iqbal Abdul Rahman, 28, clinched his first gold medal at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games after his victory during the silat artistic men's tunggal (singles) finals in Hanoi, Vietnam.

He beat his opponent — 28-year-old Thai athlete Ilyas Sadara — after banking an almost perfect score of 9.960 at the Bac Tu Liem sports centre on May 11, 2022, reported CNA.

This was Iqbal's sixth attempt at gunning for gold during the SEA Games; of which he won a silver and a bronze medal in the 2019 and 2015's editions respectively.

He also previously won the World Championship in 2018 and bagged four Asian Championship gold medals.

First gold medal for Singapore

There were "no words to describe" how he felt and Iqbal was "beyond" grateful to have nabbed the gold medal for himself and for Singapore, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

"Emotions were high ... The moment I heard the loudest cheers, I knew the gold was mine," quipped Iqbal.

His triumph marked the first gold medal for Singapore at the current edition of the SEA Games. Singapore previously earned two silver and three bronze medals in this edition before Iqbal's historic win today.

"Grit and tenacity"

Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, was present at the sports centre and witnessed Iqbal's success.

"We are so proud of Iqbal, and I hope that the trail that he blazes and the first gold for Singapore will set an example for many others to come," said the minister.

He also elaborated that the gold medal is also a story of grit, resilience and determination since it was Iqbal's sixth time in the SEA Games. Tong felt very "proud" of Iqbal for showing "grit and tenacity."

The minister hopes that this achievement will inspire the Singaporean athletes to do the same.

His congratulatory message was shared on his Facebook page earlier today after witnessing Iqbal's victory.

Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, also tweeted his praises on the achievement.

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Top photos from Edwin Tong's Facebook post.