PARIS: National diving ace Nur Dhabitah Sabri managed to keep her medal hopes alive in the women’s 3 metre (m) Springboard event at the 2024 Paris Olympics after advancing to the final, here yesterday.
In yesterday’s semi-finals, despite losing focus on the third dive, she improved on her last two jumps to confirm a place among the 12 divers for the final, tomorrow (Aug 9).
Nur Dhabitah, who came into the Paris Olympics with less preparation compared to her rivals after getting here on a country quota that was not used by others, at the end of June, however, will have to put in her best performance to get on the podium.
In the previous edition, Nur Dhabitah had finished in fourth place.
A podium finish will certainly boost the morale of the national diving squad which is currently facing a slump in form and the challenge of finding a new finisher, after returning empty-handed from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, on the golf course, the country’s professional golfer Ashley Lau who had carded an even par 72 to be tied for 13th place with 13 other golfers in round one yesterday, could not sustain her form yesterday when the second round ended.
In the second round, she had a score of five-over par 77 to tie for 40th place with four more players after a two-day total of 149 at the Le Golf National.
At the weightlifting arena, Chinese weightlifter Luo Shifang set three new Olympic records in the women’s 59kg category to win the gold.
She managed to lift 107kg in the snatch, 134kg in the clean and jerk for a total lift of 241kg — all three of which surpassed the record set by Kuo Hsing Chun (103kg, 133kg, 236kg) from Taiwan at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Apart from Nur Dhabitah, Malaysia’s challenge on Friday (Aug 9) will be continued by Bertrand Rhodict Lises in the preliminary round of the men’s 10m platform and Ashley Lau who will see action in the third round.
At the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines National Velodrome, track cyclist Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri will begin her challenge in the qualifying round of the women’s sprint event. — BERNAMA
