SUKMA 2026: Rui Jie's 5.30 Am Grind Pays Off With Gold

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- The sacrifice of waking up as early as 5.30 am every day finally paid off for Federal Territories diver Yong Rui Jie, who clinched the men’s 3m springboard gold medal at the 2026 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) here today.

The victory was also a redemption of sorts for Rui Jie as he made up for his disappointment at the 2024 Sarawak SUKMA, where he had to settle for silver, by upgrading the medal to gold after defeating defending champion Elvis Priestly.

Putting on a consistent performance at the Selangor Aquatic Centre, Rui Jie accumulated 391.85 points to give the FT contingent the honour of securing the first diving gold.

For Rui Jie, who was making his final appearance at SUKMA, the achievement was the highest form of reward to himself after enduring an extremely demanding and exhausting daily training routine to reach his current level of performance.

“I had to wake up at 5.30 am every day for training, getting into the cold water, then going to class. After class, I would come back for training again.

“So, I feel like if I didn’t win this medal, I would feel sorry for myself. I feel like I deserve this medal,” he told reporters after the event.

He also dedicated the victory to his family and coaching team, who had been the backbone behind his improvement and helped him repay the team’s faith in him at this edition.

Besides self-discipline, Rui Jie said his success was also influenced by the competition venue, as the Shah Alam facility was like a “second home” to him, having started training there a decade ago.

He now wants to shift his focus fully to the senior level, with today’s success serving as a warm-up before taking on the challenge of representing the country at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

“My next target after SUKMA is the Asian Games in Japan. So, today’s performance, for me, I think was okay. I hope to carry this momentum through to the Asian Games.

“The events have not been finalised yet, so I don’t know. Maybe I should dream a little bigger — I want to win a medal,” he said.

In the event, the silver medal went to Selangor's Muhammad Haris Mohd Rezal with 387.45 points, while Elvis of Sarawak had to settle for bronze after scoring 368.30 points.

-- BERNAMA