Pressure tells, as Lim’s bid for fourth title ends early

Coming into the Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Air Force Academy on Dec 11, Singapore jujitsu exponent Noah Lim would have been greeted by a striking monument of four retired fighter jets, including an F-16 Fighting Falcon, positioned flying upwards.

- Deepanraj Ganesan

It was a fitting backdrop for the day’s mission at the competition venue for jujitsu at the 2025 SEA Games. Lim, already a three-time SEA Games gold medallist, was aiming to soar once more and capture his fourth consecutive title at the biennial event.

But a shock opening round 3-2 defeat by advantage to Marc Alexander Lim of the Philippines in the men’s ne-waza under-69kg meant that the 23-year-old Singaporean’s winning streak was halted.

With scores tied at regulation time, Marc Alexander won by scoring first in sudden death rules. The Filipino, however, went on to be eliminated in the quarterfinals, with Vietnam’s Dang Dinh Tung winning gold.