PETALING JAYA: Malaysia made a superb start to their campaign in the Asian Diving Cup, winning both the platform synchro gold medals at the Tao Payoh Swimming Complex in Singapore on Saturday.
Myanmar SEA Games-bound junior Nur Dhabitah Sabri partnered Trasie Vivien Tukiet to clinch the gold in the women’s 10m platform synchro with a 277.98 total ahead of Indonesian (224.22) and Singaporean (189.42) pairings.
There was further joy for the Sabri family as Mohd Danial, Nur Dhabitah’s elder brother, combined well with Mohd Nazreen to hand Malaysia the men’s 10m platform synchro title as well.
Danial and Nazreen, also bound for the SEA Games, scored 316.83 points ahead of the pair from Singapore (273.24).
Malaysia did not send the national elite divers but opted to give the juniors a chance to see where they stand at international level.
China and Japan did not participate in the Asian Diving Cup this time, which is held on a biennial basis, but the meet will still serve as a good development platform for the juniors.
Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) secretary Edwin Chong said Singapore and Indonesia fielded their SEA Games divers.
“We decided to send the juniors as they do not have many competitions to compete in, unlike the seniors.
“Dhabitah, for example, only went for the United States Grand Prix in Fort Lauderlade this year.
“This is only her second competition.
“As for Nazreen and Danial, we are grooming them for the future. So winning the gold is good for their confidence,” added Edwin.
Malaysia, fielding divers like Pandelela Rinong and Yeoh Ken Nee, bagged three golds in the previous Asian Diving Cup in Kuala Lumpur two years ago.
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