Gritty Pandelela makes the finals but injury forces her to pull out

THE Iban warrior cry of “Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban” has always been Pandelela Rinong’s (pic) life motto.

It means, fight until the last breath.

But yesterday, the 25yearold national diving queen had to retreat from a battle ahead of her because of a back injury.

She pulled out from the women’s 10m platform finals after defying the odds to finish sixth in the afternoon's preliminaries. She was deemed unfit to compete by the doctor following her worsening condition.

Pandelela suffered an untimely back injury on Sunday during the team’s training session, forcing her to skip the platform synchro event on Tuesday.

Known for her fighting spirit, it was not a surprise when the twotime Olympics medallist gave it a shot in the qualifying round at GBK Aquatic Centre, hoping to make a mark in her third Asian Games.

But she was struggling and collected only 277.50 points in the fivedive action. On average, Pandelela scores nothing less than 320 points. Still, it was good enough to take her to the 12woman finals in sixth place.

But she conceded defeat in the finals. “I’m glad to end my Asian Games journey by completing my five dives safely and came out in sixth placing,” said Pandelela on her official Facebook page.

“Unfortunately, I had to skip the finals. I was advised to pull out as I was still struggling with my back pain. Health comes first, so I leave the fight for another day.”

Pandelela made a strong debut in Guangzhou in 2010, winning bronze in individual event and teamed up with Leong Mun Yee for silver in the synchro.

In Incheon four years ago, she and Mun Yee claimed bronze in the synchro.