KUALA LUMPUR – Sabah successfully defended their title at the 20th Malaysia Games (Sukma) men’s 3m springboard synchronised event through pair Gabriel Gilbert Daim and Julfaddli Jali at the National Aquatics Centre, Bukit Jalil here, today.
The Sabah duo registered 317.37 points from six dives to edge ahead of Kuala Lumpur’s Nurqayyum Nazmi and Yong Rui Jie (308.40), who came in second, followed by Sarawak’s Elvis Priestly and Soh Tze Kang (303.84 points).
Speaking to reporters after the event, Gabriel said he had expected to clinch a gold medal with Julfaddli given the chemistry they had while training together at the eleventh hour.
“We only had one day to train together before the tournament started because I have been training with the national team (in Bukit Jalil), whereas Julfaddli was trained in Sabah.
“We are very proud of ourselves and expected this win because as a diver, to get the perfect synchronisation with a new partner would usually take a longer time,” he said.
Gabriel also represented Malaysia in Birmingham’s 2022 Commonwealth Games in the same event with partner Syafiq Puteh and won a silver medal.
Previously, Gabriel had won a gold medal at the 2018 Sukma held in Perak and a silver at the 2016 edition in Sarawak.
Despite his successes, the 21-year-old believed that his participation in Sukma could elevate the games’ standard.
“With the participation of an elite athlete in Sukma, such as myself, maybe it could further improve the standard of the competition and motivate others to attempt more difficult dives in the future.”
Julfaddli echoed Gabriel, saying that he felt more spirited to compete today because he was inspired by his partner’s success.
Additionally, this was his first time stepping onto the Sukma podium.
“I feel proud to be partnered with a national athlete who is also the Commonwealth silver medallist.
“I pushed myself to do better because of him,” he added.
Meanwhile, Elvis claimed gold in the men’s synchronised platform with Jared Aiden at 334.44 points ahead of Kuala Lumpur duo Nurqayyum and Rui Jie (329.82 points), followed by Sabah pair Julfaddli and Muhd Anilrian (291.78 points). – The Vibes, September 20, 2022
