PHNOM PENH, May 16 — National kickboxer Ahmad Nor Iman Hakim Rakib has attributed his success in delivering the gold medal at the 2023 SEA Games here to his father Rakib Ahmad’s words of encouragement and younger brother’s golden feat in muay Thai at the previous edition of the biennial Games.

Ahmad Nor Iman Hakim, competing in the men’s below 69-kilogramme (kg) kick light category at the Elephant Hall of the Morodok Techo National Stadium here, defeated Indonesia’s Muharram Syach Firman 2-1 to emerge triumphant.

The gold medal means the world to the 23-year-old as this is the first time he is competing in kickboxing, having bagged silver and bronze in taekwondo in the Philippines (2019) and Hanoi, Vietnam (2021) editions.

In the Hanoi edition, which was held last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, his brother, Ahmad Nor Iman Aliff, presented Malaysia with a gold medal in muay Thai.

Ahmad Nor Iman Hakim Rakib’s gold medal is the country’s 33rd at the biennial Games this time.

"I am very happy, it’s difficult to describe in words. Not easy to get the gold medal... because I had a lot of commitments... studies and teaching taekwondo and muay Thai classes. I had to make a lot of sacrifices,” he said.

Ahmad Nor Iman Hakim his father, who is also a national boxing legend, had given him words of encouragement before he competed in today’s final.

"Father told me about strategy and gave me words of encouragement, he told me to do my best. I hope my parents are happy with the gold medal I won because my younger brother achieved the feat (at the SEA Games) first.

"My younger brother marched ahead first, I felt left behind. That drove me to get the gold medal. My brother also told me to give it my best shot,” he said, adding that his desire to strike gold made him fight all out in the final.

For the record, Rakib won the boxing bronze in the 1998 Commonwealth Games and silver at the 2001 SEA Games. — Bernama