No Surprise As Transition Period Defines National Diving Camp’s SEA Games 2025 Outing

From Amiril Muttaqien Meketar

BANGKOK, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- The national diving camp may not have swept the gold rush this time, but their showing at the SEA Games Thailand 2025 was a clear reflection of a team in transition.

With several big names missing, including diving queen Datuk Pandelela Rinong and Nur Dhabitah Sabri, its team manager Desdemona Mollon said most of the squad featured at the Games are still in the process of increasing the degree of difficulty of their dives - a transition that requires time and careful management.

Of the six divers fielded, only two had prior SEA Games exposure - seasoned campaigner Muhammad Syafiq Puteh and Nur Eilisha Rania Muhammad Abrar Raj.

“This is a junior team. Only Muhammad Syafiq is under the senior programme and has completed dives.

“In terms of performance from the juniors, I am satisfied with their current degree of difficulty and they are actually on track,” she said when met here.

Desdemona said the coaching team had anticipated the outcome at the 33rd edition of the biennial Games, as competitors from Thailand and Singapore are currently peaking after multiple SEA Games cycles.

Looking ahead, she is optimistic about the squad’s potential, saying the current crop of divers is expected to mature into a competitive unit by the 2027 SEA Games in Malaysia, supported by a more structured qualification system and a packed competition schedule next year.

She said next year will serve as a crucial stepping stone, with Malaysia planning to expose a wider pool of divers to major international competitions to accelerate their transition from junior to senior level.

The national diving camp ended their campaign at the SEA Games Thailand 2025 with two golds and a bronze during the three-day competition held at the Aquatic Centre, Assumption University Suvarnabhumi Campus in Samut Prakan.

The young national pairing of Yong Rui Jie and Nurqayyum Nazmi Mohamad Nazim claimed gold in the men’s three-metre (m) synchronised springboard event, while Nur Eilisha and partner Nurul Farisya Alia Affendi dominated the women’s synchronised platform event.

Rui Jie also took home bronze in men’s 1m springboard event.

However, Malaysia’s long-standing dominance in the men’s 3m springboard event, which dated back to the 2005 edition, came to an ignoble end as no Malaysian diver managed a podium finish.

Debutant Elvis Priestly Clement finished fourth with a total of 359.80 points while Muhammad Syafiq, who won gold at the 2021 Vietnam and 2023 Cambodia editions ended up fifth with 356.30 points.

Despite the underwhelming showing in the event, Malaysia topped the overall diving standings, securing two of the four gold medals contested this time around.

Singapore came in second with one gold, two silver and one bronze, followed by Thailand (1-2-0), Vietnam (0-0-1) and Indonesia (0-0-1).

The SEA Games Thailand 2025, which kicked off on Dec 9, concludes today.

-- BERNAMA