Philippine wrestling delivered a glimpse of its future when Gabriel Thomas Dinette clinched the gold medal in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand.

Dinette beat Van Truong Vu Tran of Vietnam after a walkover injury to secure the gold medal in the 86-kilogram crown men’s freestyle event at the Pacific Hall inside the Pacific Park in Chonburi Province.

His victory, which came in the final day of action, highlighted his great technical superiority over his counterparts, including Chiranuwat Chamnanjan of Thailand and Weng Luen Gary Chow of Singapore.

“I thank God for the strength and all who have supported me in this journey,” the 26-year-old Dinette said.

Aside from Dinette’s gold medal, the national wrestling team also bagged four silver and four bronze medals to underscore one of their most successful participations in the biennial meet.

Hayden Ancheta, Ronil Tubog, Aliah Rose Gavalez and Ax Arian Geralin Carpio secured silver medals while Rea Grace Cervantes, Jason Baucas, Andre Dragani and Callum Roberts went home with bronze medals.

For Wrestling Association of the Philippines president Alvin Aguilar, there was indeed a lesson to learn in their campaign.

“We won nine medals, with one gold, and that is something to cheer about,” Aguilar said.

“I am beyond proud of our young athletes’ incredible performance at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand. With 11 entries, including nine first-timers, they brought home a total of nine medals: one gold four silvers and four bronzes.”

“It makes us to strive for more to be able to win as many medals as possible in the future. Proud moment for the Philippine wrestling team.”

Vietnam topped the medal standing with 10 gold, one silver and a bronze medal while Indonesia was in far second with one gold, six silver and three bronze medals.