PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Persistence paid off for jiu jitsu fighter Marc Alexander Lim as he finally captured a gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games.

Marc Alexander Lim

Lim ended years of frustration after prevailing over Vietnam’s Dang Dinh Tung to rule the men’s ne-waza nogi -69kg.

“I still can’t believe it. I always came so close to the gold medal, but through persistence and hard work, I finally won the gold medal,” said Lim, whose previous feats were a silver medal in the 2019 edition and the bronze in the 2021 Vietnam meet.

The Davao-based fighter said he became more mature over the years and learned a lot from his mistakes since joining the national team seven years ago.

“I forget the losses, but I keep the lessons,” he said.

“It took me seven years, but it’s worth it.”

Lim’s victory came after Meggie Ochoa suffered a knee-bar submission defeat to Cambodian star Jessa Khan to settle for the silver medal in the women’s ne-waza nogi 52kg.

Overall, the PH jiu jitsu team finished the biennial meet with three gold, one silver and eight bronze medals, surpassing their previous performance in Hanoi, Vietnam last year of two gold, two silver and two bronzes.

Aside from Lim, the gold medals came from Kaila Napolis in the women’s ne-waza gi -52kg and Annie Ramirez in the women’s ne-waza nogi -57kg.