BIRMINGHAM: Nur Dhabitah Sabri produced a wonderful performance to become the first Malaysian diver to stand on the Commonwealth Games podium for women’s 3m springboard individual on Sunday (August 7).
Dhabitah was on the brink of a historic win when she led the field of 12 finalists after the first three dives.
However, she was pushed into the second spot after scoring 55.50 at Sandwell Aquatics Centre as the chasing Australian Maddison Keeney grabbed her chance well as she scored 75.95 to build a 13-point gap at the top.
Dhabitah came back with a 67.50 to confirm the silver, the third for Malaysia in the diving competition, with her total of 330.90 points while Keeney took the gold with 348.95 points.
Canada’s Mia Vallee finished third with 329.25 points while another Malaysian Ong Ker Ying placed 12th with 231.60 points.
Dhabitah and Ker Ying advanced to the final after finishing sixth (276.25) and 10th (257.70) respectively.
It was an achievement to savour for the 23-year-old from Kuala Lumpur as no Malaysian diver has won a medal in the women’s 3m springboard event before.
Dhabitah’s latest effort is better than her performance at the Tokyo Olympics last year, where she finished fourth with 326.15 points.
It is the first individual medal for Dhabitah at the Commonwealth Games stage.
She already has a silver with Wendy Ng Yan Yee in the women’s 3m springboard synchro on Saturday.
Dhabitah returns to the pool today to partner Mohd Syafiq Puteh to compete in the mixed 3m springboard synchro event.–The Star