KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 ― National divers managed to make a splash in the inaugural edition of the Malaysia International Online Diving Championships, which began today, although it has been almost a year since they last took part in any competitive meet due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nur Dhabitah Sabri-Wendy Ng Yan Yee lived up to expectations when they won the women’s synchronised 3-metre springboard with 230.58 points. Australians Milly Puckeridge-Zara Tullipan (189.75 pts) and Harriet Kaan-Ellie Cole (171.36 pts) were second and third respectively.

Nur Dhabitah, 21, who clinched the gold medal in the individual 3m springboard at the 2019 Asian Diving Cup, said she was happy to return to action although the atmosphere was different without the presence of spectators at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil here.

“I am happy and, at the same time, nervous because it’s been a long time since we competed. Frankly, I am very satisfied with my dives today. This meet has also given me a new experience…it’s very quiet, but what’s good is that we have our teammates supporting us,” she said.  

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Nur Dhabitah, who has confirmed a berth in the Tokyo Olympics next year, said it would be weird if diving competitions continued to be held behind closed doors.

Meanwhile, Wendy described the meet as an early battleground to gauge their performance level in their quest to earn an Olympic ticket at the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup scheduled to be held in Tokyo from April 18-23. 

“Very excited and happy that we could dive like that. This is a very good experience because we have never had a virtual championship like this before… a good experience for us before the World Cup,” she said.

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Malaysia also dominated the men’s individual 3m springboard when Ooi Tze Liang (408.05 pts) and Chew Yiwei (356.60 pts) emerged champion and runner-up, with Japan’s Reo Sakata third with 342.10 points.  

“My performance was quite average as there were slight mistakes but, overall, it was quite satisfying. With the threat of Covid-19 still looming large, this online meet is quite good to ensure divers can get a feel of the tournament atmosphere,” said the 27-year-old Tze Liang. 

In the women’s individual 10m platform, Australian Olivia O’Rourke came out tops with 248.60 points, followed by Japan’s Mei Nagasawa (247.85 pts) and Aussie Sofia Knight (232.60 pts). 

Four more events will be held tomorrow, namely the women’s individual 3m springboard, women’s synchronised 10m platform, men’s synchronised 3m springboard and men’s individual 10m platform.

The two-day meet, which is streamed live on the official National Sports Council Facebook page, only features Olympic events. Five countries are taking part ― host Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. ― Bernama