PETALING JAYA, March 20 — National obstacle course athlete Mohd Redha Rozlan is determined to strike gold in the Cambodia SEA Games in May after having to settle for three silvers in the 2019 edition in the Philippines.

The 34-year-old, better known as Mat Redho, believes he is better prepared this time after undergoing gym training with obstacle courses compared to four years ago.

"For some people, finishing second and getting on the podium is good enough. But, for me, it’s all about winning (because) finishing second is as good as losing. So, for this year, I will give my best and make amends (by returning home with the gold medal).

"For now, I am stepping up my training by increasing my sprints and doing climbing exercises for upper body strength,” he told reporters when met during chef de mission Datuk Mohd Nasir Ali’s visit to the training venue today.

Mat Redho said although the obstacles at the training centre are not the same as the ones in Cambodia during the May 5-17 SEA Games, the national team have been hard at work after receiving information from the organisers regarding the measurements and types of obstacles to be used.

In the Philippines, Mat Redho bagged silver in the men’s 100m, 400m team relay and 400m team assist events while Malaysia also earned a bronze medal through Mohd Saddam Mohd Pittli in the men’s 5km event.

The obstacle course race, which made its SEA Games debut in 2019 but was scrapped for the 2021 Hanoi edition in Vietnam, is a sport that involves competitors having to climb over walls, carry heavy objects, swim across ponds, crawl under barbed wire and jump through fire.

Mat Redho, who won the 2018 Ninja League Challenge (NCL) by defeating American Ninja Warrior champion Jake Murray, said the national squad are expected to undergo a two-week centralised training camp in the Philippines next week as part of their preparation for the SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

This time, the national obstacle course race team are targeting gold in the men’s 100m individual and team events and a podium finish in the women’s 100m team event.

Meanwhile, woman athlete Yip Hui Teng, 32, admitted to facing a little difficulty adjusting to the shorter distance, having competed in the longer distance in the previous edition.

"If the distance is longer, we have time to rest our arm muscles when running, but when the distance is just 100m and, with 12 obstacles, we need to have a lot of power, endurance and upper body strength.

"However, I am confident I’ll be ready come the SEA Games. We are focusing on sprints and runs in the morning sessions while the evening sessions are for strength and conditioning,” said Hui Teng, who only received confirmation of her SEA Games participation on Thursday (March 16). — Bernama