Selangor silambam athlete M.Mahendran made history at the Selangor 2026 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) after winning his 3rd consecutive gold medal at the Games.
The 20-year-old from Kuala Langat achieved the milestone despite having trained for only 8 months ahead of the competition, while also working full-time as an air-conditioning service technician around Telok Panglima Garang.
His daily schedule is not an easy one. Mahendran would work until 6PM before heading straight to training from 7PM to 10PM. The next day morning, he would return to work by 10AM.
After that hard work paid off when Mahendran defeated Perak’s M.Tharani 15-12 in the men’s poruthal category for athletes weighing between 65KG and 75KG at the Subang Jaya City Council Stadium in Serdang Jaya.
Victory Confirmed After Two-Hour Wait
However, Mahendran had to wait nearly 2 hours before he could officially celebrate his gold medal due to a protest over the result. While he admitted feeling nervous during the wait, he stayed confident that the final result will be his way. His victory was eventually confirmed, completing a memorable campaign for Mahendran.
Mahendran said the achievement was particularly special as he believes no other silambam athlete has managed to win 3 consecutive SUKMA gold medals. Behind his success, Mahendran credited his parents for supporting and encouraging him constantly throughout his journey.
Balancing long working hours with demanding training session was not easy, but his victory made those sacrifices worth it. With his third straight gold, Mahendran walked away from SUKMA 2026 with a piece of silambam history to his name.
Sources: Bernama
