In sync: Wendy Ng (right) and Nur Dhabitah Sabri won the 3m springboard synchro with 298.98 points.
PETALING JAYA: Divers Ooi Tze Liang and Wendy Ng-Nur Dhabitah Sabri won their respective events at an empty venue in the Malaysia International Online diving competition.
The contest saw the Malaysians making the plunge at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil while their counterparts from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore dived at their respective venues yesterday.
Each of the countries also had one judge to hand out the scores.
Tze Liang, the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, led from start to finish to win the individual 3m springboard competition with 408.05 points.
Compatriot Chew Yiwei let slip a golden chance to beat Tze Liang when he over-rotated in his second dive. But to his credit, he managed to fight back from fifth to end the six-dive competition in second spot with 365.60.
Japan’s Reo Sakata came in third in the 11-diver competition with 342.10.
Mohd Syafiq Puteh was in third in the preliminaries but had to miss out as only two divers from each country go to the final.
Tze Liang, who will receive a certificate instead of a medal, was pleased with his performance.
“My last competition was in Germany in February. That was a long time ago so I’m quite happy with my efforts.
“Furthermore, this is a whole new experience for me.
“I made some mistakes but overall it’s okay. I just try to bring out what I’ve learnt in training these last few months.”
Tze Liang will be out to earn a second Olympic appearance when he competes in the Diving World Cup meet in Tokyo in April next year.
Meanwhile, Dhabitah was delighted that she executed her routine without any hiccups when she partnered Wendy to win the 3m springboard synchro with 298.98 points.
“It’s kind of strange with only two of us and no judges around but we managed to perform quite well, thanks to our teammates who made some noise to motivate and cheer on us, ” said Dhabitah.
Australians Milly Puckeridge-Zara Tullipan and Harriet Kaan-Ellie Cole took second (239.43) and third (219.15) place respectively.
Cheong Jun Hoong, competing for the first time since her knee surgery two years ago, missed out on the 10m platform final.
The 2017 world champion was placed fourth in the preliminaries with 237.05 points.
Men
3m springboard:
1. Ooi Tze Liang (Mas) 408.05,
2. Chew Yiwei (Mas) 365.60,
3. Reo Sakata (Jpn) 342.10.
Women
3m springboard synchro:
1. Wendy Ng Yan Yee-Nur Dhabitah Sabri (Mas) 298.98,
2. Milly Puckeridge-Zara Tullipan (Aus) 239.43,
3. Harriet Kaan-Ellie Cole (Aus) 219.15.
10m platform:
1. Olivia O’Rourke (Aus) 212.60,
2. Mei Nagasawa (Jpn) 190.25,
3. Sofia Knight (Aus) 181.40.
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