LESS IS MORE FOR SMART TRAINER LIM

Focused approach helps jiu-jitsu exponent clinch unprecedented silver at world c’ships

- Kimberly Kwek Sports Correspondent

In the past, Singaporean jiu-jitsu exponent Noah Lim approached training with a single-minded intensity - going all out every session and channelling his focus into beating everyone he faced.

But in recent years, he has taken a different route, choosing to train smarter rather than harder.

That shift has paid off, with Lim clinching the men’s Under-69kg silver medal at the Jujitsu International Federation World Championships on Nov 4.

At the Hua Mak Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, the 23-year-old achieved a breakthrough. En route to claiming silver, he defeated familiar rivals such as South Korea’s Asian Games bronze medallist Joo Seong-hyeon, whom he had lost to in the quarterfinals of the Hangzhou Asiad in 2023.

After finishing fifth on the continental stage on several occasions, Lim was finally a medallist at the world level.

He told The Straits Times: “It’s quite ironic that from not training harder, I’m actually doing better.

“Because now, instead of just mindlessly pushing 100 per cent, I have a very focused approach to what kind of skills I want to develop, what are the positions I need to be good at and how do I master those techniques?

“So over the past few years, I’ve been training smarter and it’s really nice for it to finally pay off after so many years of losing to these guys.”