PHNOM PENH: The reflections from the pool, caused by the sun's glare, made diver Kimberly Bong Qiang Ping uneasy.
Things were just not ideal for a good dive or good scores.
But a grim Kimberly managed to do enough to come out tops in the women's 3m springboard at the Morodok Techo Aquatics Centre.
"There was a lot of glare from the reflections of the pool. That affected my dives as I wasn't so confident," said Kimberly.
Looking at her scores, Kimberly said her dives were not her best.
"My overall score was not great, but I'm not complaining.
It was the 21-year-old's first ever gold medal in three Sea Games.
With Malaysian diving often associated with the likes of Pandelela Rinong and Nur Dhabitah Sabri, the Sarawak-born Kimberly admitted she found it a bit hard to believe that she won the first gold for Malaysia in the sport in these Sea Games.
Kimberly came out tops with 276.3 points, keeping the gold in Malaysian hands. Her compatriot, Wendy Ng Yan Yee, won the event in the Hanoi edition last year.
Indonesian Gladies Lariesa, with 273.1, foiled a 1-2 finish by Malaysia today by taking the silver. Kimberly's teammate Ong Ker Ying had to settle for bronze. For Ker Ying, it was a step down the podium as she had won the silver at the last Sea Games.
keywords: diving, seagames2023, Kimberly Bong, Malaysia