Hanoi, May 9 (VNA) – Malaysian diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri has won the first gold medal at the 31st Southeast Asian Games after triumphing in the women’s 1m springboard individual at the My Dinh Water Sports Stadium in Hanoi on May 8 .

Considered the best female diver in Southeast Asia, Nur Dhabitah got 290.45 points after five dives to bag gold, the fifth of its kind for the athlete since making her debut at the biennial Games in 2013.
 
Selected as the Malaysian contingent’s flagbearer this year, Nur Dhabitah, born in 1999, has a big collection of medals. Besides the five SEA Games golds, she had earned one silver and two bronze medals at the 2018 Asian Games and three bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games. She also gained a slot at two Olympics editions – Rio 2016 in Brazil and Tokyo 2020 in Japan.

Talking to the press after her gold medal at SEA Games 31, the 22-year-old hoped her achievement will encourage other athletes to work harder in their competitions.

To succeed, an athlete would have to make a lot of sacrifices and face various challenges, she said.

Nur Dhabitah is expected to bag another gold medal in Hanoi when she competes in the 10m platform synchronised event with her team mate Datuk Pandelela Rinong Ramg on May 11.

Also at the same event on May 8, another Malaysian diver, Kimberly Bong Qian Ping, obtained 230 points to win the second place.

Malaysia targets 36 gold medals from the ongoing SEA Games, with the diving team predicted to seize eight golds./.