An inspired victory
Pep talk by Pandelela does the trick for Eilisha and Kimberly
SARAWAK’S Kimberly Bong Qian Ping and Eilisha Rania Abrial Raja Gopal can thank Rio Olympicbound Pandelela Rinong for making a splash in the diving event at the Sarawak Aquatic Centre in Kuching.
Pandelela took some time off from her training schedule to meet her Sarawak team-mates before the Sukma diving competition.
“She told us to never give up until the last dive.
“We took her advice and we got the gold,” said an excited Kimberly after she and Eilisha won the 7.5m platform synchronised event yesterday.
The duo accumulated 238.50 points to clinch diving’s first gold medal for Sarawak.
They finished 19.32 points ahead of Sabah’s Nur Ain NadzmiNurfazriyanti Jali (219.18pts).
Only four pairs took part in the event and Selangor’s Lim Min-Nur Alya Jazmina Khairul Azhar took bronze with 206.85 points.
Eleven-year-old Eilisha, who is making her Sukma debut, was a bundle of nerves during the event.
“I was a bit nervous and never thought we would win the gold as this is my first Sukma. But thanks to the support of our fans, we managed good jumps ... we’re proud to win the first gold in diving for Sarawak,” said the 127cm (4ft)-tall Standard Five student of Satria Jaya Primary School.
Eilisha, who took up diving at the age of five, said that the win has motivated her to aim for a podium finish in the women’s individual 1m springboard and platform events.
This is also Kimberly’s first Sukma gold medal after her failures at the last two Games – in Kuantan 2012 and Kangar 2014.
The 14-year-old Kimberly, standing at 145cm (4ft 7in), also admitted to being surprised with their win, especially “since the divers from other states executed more difficult dives than us”.
“It feels nice to win my first gold in my third Sukma outing,” said Kimberly, who won silver in the same event in Kangar two years ago.
Two medals were on offer in diving yesterday.
National diver Chew Yi Wei of Selangor was a runaway winner in the men’s 3m springboard event after accumulating 422.85 points over six dives.
He finished by more than 60 points ahead of two Sarawak divers – Slyvester Peter Jawa (358.80) and Carlyse Chan Wee Cheik (353.50).
National back-up diver Syafiq Puteh of Perak flopped miserably, managing 331.65 points to finish fourth.