Not meant to be: Pandelela Rinong (right) and Nur Dhabitah Sabri in action in the 10m synchro platform final. — Bernama
DIVER Pandelela Rinong has a final chance to get her act right in the mixed 10m platform synchro event today or return home without a Commonwealth Games medal for the first time.
It is the first time the mixed synchro events are contested at the Games and Pandelela will step out with Sabahan Jellson Jabillin on the last day of competition at Sandwell Aquatics Centre.
Malaysia will also be represented by Wendy Ng Yan Yee-Gabriel Gilbert Daim and Mohd Syafiq Puteh-Nur Dhabitah Sabri in the mixed 3m springboard synchro today.
On Saturday, all it took was a mistake in the fourth dive and Pandelela-Dhabitah’s hopes of contributing a gold in Birmingham sank in the women’s 10m platform synchro final.
The pair were sitting comfortably in second position until the fourth dive when Dhabitah landed almost flat on her back. They earned 41.28 and despite a strong final effort of 75.84, it was too little too late.
Pandelela-Dhabitah, the World Championships bronze medallists, settled for fourth with 286.92 points behind English pair Robyn Birch-Emily Martin (287.88).
England’s Eden Cheng-Andrea Spendolini Sirieix had pushed the Malaysians out of the podium by grabbing silver with their last dive of 76.80 to finish with 298.86 points.
Veteran Australian diver Melissa Wu tasted success with 14-year-old Charli Petrov to win the gold with 306.00 points.
It is the first time Pandelela has failed to win a medal in the 10m platform synchro at the Games.
Pandelela took silver in the event with Leong Mun Yee in 2010 and bronze with Dhabitah in Glasgow four years later.
She made the top of the podium in Gold Coast with Cheong Jun Hoong.
But the 29-year-old had no regrets.
Instead she felt that her dives were gradually getting better compared to last Thursday where she only finished 11th in the 10m platform individual event.
“I felt better than Thursday’s dive. I was just hoping to dive like usual as how I do it in training.
“But in sports, this is bound to happen. You just have to take it positively and move forward,” she said. Dhabitah, who partnered Wendy Ng Yan Yee to silver in the women’s 3m springboard synchro event earlier, also admitted she was not at her best.
“It’s not meant to be for us. I’m grateful to have an understanding partner like Pandelela. Some of my dives were not good but I can’t be disappointed for too long.
“It has happened. It’s time to move forward, train and improve,” said Dhabitah.
Meanwhile, Dhabitah and Ong Ker Ying have qualified for the final of the women’s 3m springboard.Dhabitah completed the preliminary round in sixth place with 276.25 points while Ker Ying came through after finishing 10th out of 14 divers with 257.70 points at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre yesterday.
