BANGKOK, Dec 10 — The national taekwondo squad clinched their first gold medal of the Thailand SEA Games 2025 after dominating the women’s recognised team poomsae event here today.

Although they were not considered the main contenders for gold, the agility of the trio - Seah Jing Ying, Wong Zin and Yow Mei Yee - impressed the judges enough to earn them 8.560 points in the final held at Fashion Island shopping mall.

They edged out their closest rivals from Thailand - Chonlakorn Chayawatto, Chutikarn Lapnitayapan and Ratchadawan Tapaenthong - who collected 8.450 points to settle for silver.

Jing Ying said they did not expect to deliver the squad’s first gold medal, especially as they were overwhelmed by nerves competing against the hosts, who enjoyed strong crowd support at the venue.

She added that the controversy earlier today involving their teammates Jason Loo Jun Wei and Nur Humaira Abdul Karim in the recognised mixed pair poomsae event did not affect their focus in the final.

“We still focus on ourselves because we don’t want to be interrupted by other things,” she told reporters.

The national squad’s main hopes for gold today, Jason Loo and Nur Humaira, were left disappointed after the judges’ decision in their quarter-final match.

The judges awarded victory to the home pair, Chonlakorn Chayawatto and Thana Kiewailerd, based on performance aspects, even though both pairs were tied on 8.460 points.

Malaysia protested the decision but did not succeed, as the judges upheld their verdict. — Bernama