Singapore judoka Ho Han Boon fought his way to a long-awaited gold medal in the over-100kg category at the Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar on Saturday afternoon.
The last time Singapore won gold in judo was at the 1989 SEA Games, through Edmund Tan and Tang Soon Onn.
Ho, a Games debutant, edged past Kaewpakdee Saknarin of Thailand in the first bout of the round-robin tournament before overcoming Malaysia's Abdul Razak in the final held at Zayar Thiri Stadium.
His medal is Singapore's 34th and last gold of the 2013 SEA Games.
But the 24-year-old almost missed out on a shot at gold when he found himself in trouble during the contest with Saknarin.
Ho and his Thai opponent were sprawled on the mat with just 10 seconds to go and little left in their tanks.
But the Singaporean found enough in his reserves to overturn his foe and force a submission.
'We were both tired, but he was more tired than me,' said Ho, who stands at a hulking 1.9m and weighs 195kg. 'So I gave everything I had to flip him over.'He later won his gold medal by the same means in a match that lasted just two minutes. The Malaysian was in fact leading by a point after starting off on an attacking front foot but Ho was able to counter and eventually land a submission.
Heading into the Games, his strategy was to avoid being thrown too easily, an aspect he worked on extensively while on a month-long training camp in Mongolia.
The overseas stint improved his skills and gave him confidence, said Ho. But the full-time judo coach also added that he already had a solid foundation to fall back on, even if he only joined the national set-up two years ago.
'I have been training for quite a long time (10 years), and this is a result of my years of training,' he said. 'And my coaches have given me good guidance over the years.'
What's next for the big man? The 2015 SEA Games, of course.
'I want to win another medal for Singapore,' he declared.
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