KUALA LUMPUR: National diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri expressed her gratitude after bouncing back from a slow start, particularly in her fourth and fifth dives, to secure a spot among the top 12 competitors advancing to the final tomorrow.
Competing in the women's 3-metre springboard individual event as a wild card entry, Nur Dhabitah was satisfied with her first two dives but saw a drop in performance during her third dive in the semifinals.
However, encouragement from her coach helped her recover in her remaining dives, placing her in eighth position among the 12 qualifiers for the final.
"My first dive was very good, and the second was not too bad. I struggled a bit with the third dive, but my coach believed in me for the last two dives," Nur Dhabitah said in an audio message provided by the Olympic Council of Malaysia (MOM) today.
In the semifinals, the 25-year-old diver advanced to the final with a score of 286.95, securing the eighth spot out of 18 competitors. Only 12 athletes progressed to the final at the Paris Aquatic Centre tomorrow.
Asked if she aimed to make a surprise in the final, Nur Dhabitah acknowledged that every athlete hopes for such a result but admitted that the competition at Paris 2024 is intense.
"It's not that I don't want to, but the competition is very tough. To perform well and score high, everything has to be perfect. Everyone has their own battle here," she said.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Nur Dhabitah finished fourth in the individual event with 326.15 points, while she and partner Datuk Leong Mun Yee placed last in the synchronized 10m platform event out of eight participating countries.