TAWAU, Sabah muay thai exponent Hellmi Samsir, who won the men's gold for the 67-71-kilogramme (kg) category at the 2024 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) in Sarawak, has set his sights on representing Malaysia at the SEA Games one day. The 20-year-old, who hails from Tawau, said he intends to focus on training and be better prepared to compete at a higher level. 'My next target is to compete in the SEA Games,' he told Bernama. Hellmi won the gold medal in his maiden SUKMA appearance after defeating Sarawak's Azhad Haziq Abd Khalid 26-15 at the Naim Street Mall Paragon in Bintulu, Sarawak. He attributed his SUKMA gold medal victory to the blessings and prayers of his family and the 'fun-filled' training sessions under coach Sharon Andrea Gerald. 'The muay thai exponents from other states were also strong and, in the final, I faced an exponent from Sarawak who trained in Thailand, whereas we only trained in Tawau under coach Sharon. 'However, during the bout, she didn't want me to think about my overseas-trained o pponent but to remember what we had done in training and to believe in myself,' he said. Meanwhile, Sharon said all the hard work Hellmi put in and the challenges he faced in the past two years paid off when he clinched the gold medal. She added that her charges, Hellmi and Mohammad Syahrizan Rizal would now focus on competing on the international stage, with the earliest competition in November in Thailand before heading to Kuala Lumpur for a pro fight. At SUKMA 2024, the Sabah muay thai team returned home with five gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes. Source: BERNAMA News Agency