MOHD Syafiq Puteh was the standout man for Malaysia after delivering two out of the three gold medals national divers won on the opening day of the Asian Diving Cup at the National Aquatics Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Syafiq scored a 55.90, 65.10, 64.50, 40.50, 66.00 and 64.50 series for a 356.50 total to emerge victorious in the men's 1m springboard individual event ahead of teammate Gabriel Gilbert Daim.
Gabriel's 45.15, 55.90, 44.95, 57.00 and 39.10 (total 299.10) secured Malaysia a 1-2 finish in the event while Kuwait's Hasan Qali (268.20) completed the podium.
Syafiq then joined forces with Gabriel to win the men's 3m springboard synchronised event with a total score of 354.18. Indonesian pair Adityo Restu Putra-Tri Anggoro Priambodo (290.34) and Qatar duo Mohammed Shewaiter-Abdulaziz Balghaith (206.82) were second and third.
Syafiq, 24, who tied the knot with his sweetheart, Norashikin Azman in December, was visibly pleased with his performance.
His last medal in an international competition came via the 3m platform synchronised event, with Ooi Tze Liang at the Kuala Lumpur leg of the FINA Grand Prix in November.
“I think I did pretty well (yesterday) with the exception of one dive where I made a small mistake. I have rarely done that dive and felt a little nervous at the time,” said Syafiq.
“It feels good to get my first medal this year and a gold at that, I guess you could say it is kind of a belated wedding gift.
“I got married at the end of last year and my wife has been very patient with me. I explained to her that having to train all the time and travel to competitions is my job and she understands that.
The women's 3m springboard synchronised event yesterday saw Loh Zhiayi and Ong Ker Ying delivering gold. Their 40.20, 42.00, 51.12, 52.65 and 57.12 for a 243.09 total gave them a comfortable win ahead of Indonesian pair Maria Natalie-Linadini Yasmin (209.40) and third-placed Choi Sut Kuan-Lei Meng Hing (184.14) of Macau.
Youngsters Hanis Nazirul Jaya Surya and Jellson Jabillin had earlier yesterday won silver in the men's 10m platform synchronised with a score of 352.74 (48.00, 49.20, 64.68, 60.30, 61.44, 69.12).
China's Duan Yu-Wang Zewei took gold on 402.81 while Indonesian duo Adityo Restu Putra-Andriyan completed the podium. Fadhli Ishak