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Dhabitah finally bags Diving World Series medal

FINAL RESULTS MEN

10m platform synchro: 1. Chen Aisen-Yang Hao (Chn) 477.84, 2. Sascha Klein-Patrick Hausding (Ger) 430.68, 3. Viktor Minibaev-Aleksandr Bondar (Rus) 422.16.

3m springboard synchro: 1. Ilia Zakharov-Evgenii Kuznetsov (Rus) 422.88, 2. Jahir Ocampo-Rommel Pacheco (Mex) 411.51, 3. Xie Siyi-Cao Yuan (Chn) 400.50.

WOMEN

10m platform synchro: 1. Si Yajie-Ren Qian (Chn) 336.66, 2. Nur Dhabitah Sabri-Pandelela Rinong (Mas) 298.80, 3. Tonia CouchLois Toulson (Bri) 298.62.

3m springboard synchro: 1. Shi Tingmao-Chang Yani (Chn) 310.80, 2. Jennifer Abel-Melissa Citrini Beaulieu (Can) 305.52, 3. Esther Qin-Anabelle Smith (Aus) 299.70. PETALING JAYA: Welcome to the elite club. Nur Dhabitah Sabri bagged her first Diving World Series medal when she partnered Pandelela Rinong to bag silver in the women’s 10m platform synchro final of the final leg in Windsor, Canada.

Dhabitah-Pandelela were lying fifth with two dives remaining and trailing Britain’s Tonia Couch-Lois Toulson and Canadians Caeli-McKay-Meaghan Benfeito by almost eight points on Friday.

However, the Malaysians nailed their fourth dive to earn 70.08 to move from fifth to second as their British and Canadian rivals slipped with 58.56 and 57.60 respectively.

Dhabitah-Pandelela snatched the silver medal in the final dive after earning 69.12 for a total of 298.80 points.

The British pair settled for bronze with 298.62 points while the Canadians finished out of the medals with 293.82 points.

China’s Si Yajie-Ren Qian led from start to finish to take the gold with a massive 336.66 points.

It is the first medal for 17-year-old Dhabitah in the prestigious invitation-only series, which is for the top-eight ranked divers from the Rio Olympics last year.

Dhabitah teamed up with Pandelela after Cheong Jun Hoong failed to recover from a back injury sustained in the third leg of the series in Kazan, Russia last month.

Pandelela-Jun Hoong took a historic silver medal in the event in Rio.

In Kazan, Dhabitah-Pandelela finished fourth and Dhabitah became the fifth Malaysian diver – all women – to stand on the World Series podium.

Jun Hoong, Leong Mun Yee and Wendy Ng Yan Yee have also won medals in the past.

Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) secretary Mae Chen said it was a proud moment to see Dhabitah, the Rio Olympic finalist in the women’s 10m platform individual, on the podium.

“It’s a big breakthrough for her. This will surely boost her confidence knowing she can fight with the best on the world stage. We are proud of her,” said Mae.

Malaysia finished second overall at the conclusion of the four-leg series for the women’s 10m platform synchro with 87 points. China took top spot with 108 points while Canada are third (78).

Pandelela-Jun Hoong took silver in the opening leg in Beijing and were bronze medallists in Guangzhou the following week.

It’s a big breakthrough for her. This will surely boost her confidence knowing she can fight with the best on the world stage. Mae Chen