KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — A triceps injury suffered by national elite diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri dashed her hopes of securing a slot for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games alongside Datuk Pandelela Rinong.
At the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, yesterday, Nur Dhabitah Sabri and Pandelela finished in 12th place out of 16 diving pairs with a total score of 240.06 points in the synchronised 10-metre platform event.
To qualify for the Olympics Nur Dhabitah-Pandela needed to finish among the top four in the competition.
Malaysia Swimming Federation (MS) Technical Director Bryan Nickson Lomas said the national diving squad’s preparation had gone smoothly, with them ‘camping’ for two months in China, but some matters out of their control happened upon arrival in Qatar.
“We were hoping to do better, but there were some constraints because Dhabitah suffered a triceps injury. Her recovery is actually on track, and we acknowledge that the athletes did feel a bit of pressure even though the preparations before that were all smooth,” he told Bernama today.
Bryan said Dhabitah still has two more events in her quest for a ticket to the Olympic Games, namely the 3m springboard and synchronised 3m springboard event with Wendy Ng.
However, Pandelela, who had a big dream of making her fifth consecutive appearance at the quadrennial Games, saw her hopes dashed after failing in the synchronised 10m platform and 10m individual platform events.
On Sunday, Pandelela only managed to secure 29th place with 231.15 points, trailing 204.05 points behind world champion Chen Yuxi (435.20 points) in the qualification round of the 10m individual platform event in Doha.
So far, young diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises emerged as the sole Malaysian diver to qualify on merit for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The athlete from Sarawak will be making his Olympic debut after advancing to the final of the men’s 10m individual platform event and being among the top 12 divers at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Meanwhile, MS secretary-general Andy Low believes luck did not favour the nation’s diving queen Pandelela for her fifth consecutive Olympics appearance at the Paris 2024 Games scheduled from July 26 until August 11.
Pandelela had previously competed in four Olympic Games starting from Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020.
Andy said that there is no need to point fingers at anyone for the failure, considering that the best preparations have been made by all relevant parties to help prepare the Olympic silver medallist from London 2012 since seven months ago.
“There was no luck (for Pandelela) because we had made the best preparations. Whatever was needed (for Pandelela), we had done it, and the doctor had also treated her injury well.
“...and when we fail, there’s no need for excuses, just acknowledge that we failed. Who wants to hear excuses anyway? So, whether we say sorry for failing, or we will try our best next time. I think all divers have tried their best. What else can be said,” he said when contacted by Bernama .
Regarding the lacklustre performance of the national diving squad as a whole at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, which opened on February 2 and runs until February 18, Andy said they would conduct a post-mortem to determine what exactly happened in Qatar.
“We need to conduct a little post-mortem (after the competition) to understand what really happened. Everyone is complaining, investments have been made, but there are no results,” he said. — Bernama
