Teamwork & zeal by Pandelela-Dhabitah  - A beacon of hope & guidance for aspiring athletes

Beliawanis MCA extends our heartiest congratulations to Malaysia’s diving divas Datuk Pandelela Rinong and Nur Dhabitah Sabri who captured the bronze medal for the 10metre platform synchronised diving event at the 19th edition of the FINA World Aquatics Championships currently being staged in Budapest, Hungary.

Perseverance aptly describes both Pandelela and Nur Dhabitah’s pursuit of a medal. The pair had trailed from the sixth spot in the preliminaries earlier in the day, but never lost hope nor confidence or grew panicky. Instead, they remained disciplined and focused on improving their scores.

Equally important, teamwork proved successful for the dynamic duo. In a fitting tribute after their win, Dhabitah posted in her Facebook, “My first World Championship medal & I’m very grateful to have a good partner to help me throughout my event. Can’t do it without my coach, my awesome teams that supported us on site & amazing people back home!”

The tribute indicates willingness to learn from a more experienced and exposed athlete, coach, and a senior diver willing to impart guidance unselfishly to younger divers. Aspiring divers and other sports persons should emulate their zeal.

At 29 years, and having competed in three Olympics and now her third FINA Championships, Pandelela has also proven that age is not a barrier once an athlete’s heart and mind are fully at the sports, when it comes to contesting against world champions who are younger and deemed more agile.
  
Up against China's teenage duo - defending champion Chen Ruxi and Olympic gold medallist Quan Hongchan who finished with gold and silver, as expected, with scores of 417.25 and 416.95 respectively, Pandelela still secured 338.85 points over five dives delivering Malaysia’s first medal in the competition on Monday, 27 June 2022.

This is also Pandelela 7^th medal at the World Championships having pooled 1 silver and 6 bronzes in earlier FINA games and the recent 10m event.

Pandelela-Dhabitah may be bronze medalists, but they are always golden girls in the hearts of Malaysians.

Meanwhile, we wish them and all Malaysian divers the best in the subsequent events they would be competing in Budapest.

Ivone Low Yi Wen

Beliawanis MCA National Chairperson

-MCA Online-