HANOI: Chef de mission (CDM) Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad has described today as a proud day for Malaysia at the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi following the flying start of the national diving camp in contributing two golds and one silver at the My Dinh Aquatic Centre here.
He is optimistic that the national divers will be able to continue their excellent momentum in the remaining six events to achieve the target of making a clean sweep of all eight gold medals on offer at the biennial Games.
“First of all, I would like to congratulate the diving squad for winning the first gold medal through Dhabitah (Nur Dhabitah Sabri) and another from the men's synchronised divers. This is a proud day.
“I believe diving will contribute other medals. I also congratulate the silver medalist (Kimberly Bong Qian Ping) for her success,“ he said.
He hoped that the success of the national divers could galvanise the spirit of other national athletes in facing the tough competition in Hanoi and, thus, exceed the 36-gold target set.
In today's action, with diving the first sport to offer medals, Nur Dhabitah clinched Malaysia's first gold medal after winning the women's 1-metre (m) individual springboard final before Chew Yi Wei-Ooi Tze Liang doubled the joy with the men's 3m springboard synchronised gold medal.
Kimberly Bong made it a Malaysia 1-2 finish with her surprise silver to accompany Nur Dhabitah on the podium.
Meanwhile, national diving squad manager Datuk Leong Mun Yee was elated with the golden splash from the national divers, who appear committed to achieving the target set for them.
“I am very satisfied with the performance of our divers today, with Kimberly also showing her best performance and the silver medal won is a bonus to us as there was no specific medal target for her.
“I hope this good showing can be continued in the coming days so as to obtain good results,“ he said.
Meanwhile, Yi Wei and Tze Liang said they were proud to be able to defend the gold medal they won in the 2019 edition in the Philippines.
The diving camp will continue their gold medal hunt tomorrow, with Tze Liang and Betrand Rhodict Anak Lises competing in the men's 1m springboard individual while Ng Yan Yee-Ong Ker Ying will participate in the women's 3m springboard synchronised.-Bernama
