SINGAPORE: There were worried faces around the OCBC Aquatics Centre after Myanmar platform diver Htet Zaw Myo (pic, below) fell out of synch on his fourth dive and slammed his body into the water.
Dizzy from the impact, the 16-year-old had difficulty getting out of the pool and was stretchered out of the venue for medical attention.
The scare aside, it was all business for Malaysia as they swept to another double on the third day of the diving competition.
Ooi Tze Liang did not let the incident affect his rhythm as he romped to his third SEA Games gold in as many days in the men's 10m platform individual after Wendy Ng Yan Yee-Nur Dhabitah Sabri won the women's 3m springboard synchro earlier.
Tze Liang chalked up 415.50 points while Chew Yiwei gave Malaysia the silver as well after overtaking Singapore's Chan Fan Keng with two dives to go.
Yiwei posted 393.65 points to finish ahead of the Singaporean on 336.55.
Tze Liang won the 10m platform synchro, partnering Yiwei, on Saturday and picked up a second in the 3m springboard individual the following day.
Despite bagging his third gold, Tze Liang (pic, below) was more concerned about the Myanmar diver.
“I heard a loud splash and the audience went ... ooooh! But I did not want to see anything as I was focused on my dives. I hope he’s okay,” said Tze Liang, who admitted that such an impact can be “excruciatingly painful”.
“It’s very painful ... imagine you’re in a car and you hit another car at 60kph.
“The water might look ‘soft’ but it’s very hard on the body,” said Tze Liang, who will be going for a fourth gold when he partners Ahmad Amsyar in the 3m springboard synchro.
For Wendy, yesterday was all about making amends after taking silver behind Cheong Jun Hoong in the 3m springboard individual on Saturday. Wendy partnered Dhabitah to a gold medal in the women's 3m springboard synchro with 292.62 points.
“I’m happy I got a gold. We’ve been together for two rounds of the Diving World Series this year in Kazan and London. We still have to improve on our consistency if we hope to have a chance to compete in the World Championships in Kazan next month,” said Wendy.
*pictures by FAIHAN GHANI/ The STAR
The Star Online
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