Pandelela bags Malaysia's first individual diving World Cup medal

PETALING JAYA: Pandelela Rinong (pic) made her way into the history books as Malaysia's first individual medallist at the FINA Diving World Cup in Wuhan, China after a superb comeback in the women's 10m platform individual competition.

The two-time Olympic medallist only managed to qualify for the semi-finals after finishing 12th in the preliminary round on Tuesday (June 5).

But Pandelela got her act right when it mattered most. The 25-year-old bounced back strongly by finishing third in the top-18 semi-finals with 347.15 points behind China's Ren Qian (360.55) and Zhang Jiaqi (371.10).

Pandelela continued with her steady display in the final held in the evening.

She was placed sixth after the third dive but came back strongly to register 75.20 and 81.60.

The two impressive efforts helped Pandelela to nail the bronze medal with her total of 349.15 points.

The Chinese duo were a class above the rest of the 12 finalists as reigning Olympic champion Ren Qian settled for silver with 403.85 points.

Zhang Jiaqi, only 14, secured her first major international victory with 427.30 points.

Pandelela has a bright chance to claim a second medal in Wuhan when she returns to the pool to partner Jun Hoong for the women's 10m platform synchro event.

The duo are the reigning silver medallist from the 2016 Rio Olympics and gold medallist at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April.