C Shahmalarani earned Malaysia’s first gold medal in the women’s under 55kg final, defeating Thailand’s Chanyanut Chippensuk.

The 24-year-old Malaysian won after her Thai opponent broke her hand and was unable to continue.

Shahmalarani had earlier defeated Indonesia’s Ririhena Sharon Verlina 9-1 in the second round and Laos’ Laoyang Kengthong 8-0 in round three.

She admitted that the win was the result of her years of hard work in preparation for the biennial Games.

“It’s always been my dream to help Malaysia win gold at the SEA Games. It’s like a dream-come-true,” she said, thanking Malaysians for their encouragement and support.

H Sureeya Sankar then dazzled to win Malaysia’s second gold in the men’s under 67kg final, defeating Indonesia’s Hutapea Tebing 5-3.

Sureeya began his campaign with a 3-1 win over Vietnam’s Dang Hong Son before trouncing Filipino Manantan John Matthew Coronel 8-0 to advance to the final.

Meanwhile, S Prem Kumar, who won gold in men’s kumite (55kg) in the Philippines in 2019, only managed a bronze this time together with Filipino Jayson Ramil Macaalay Ordonez in the below 60kg event.

Prem lost in the semifinals to eventual gold medalist Adi Saputra, while Vietnam’s Van Hien Vo took silver.

The national karate team also won another bronze medal in the men’s individual kata event, with Indonesian Ahmad Zigi Zaresta Yuda taking gold and Vietnam’s Pham Minh Duc receiving silver.