NATIONAL diving queen Pandelela Rinong Pamg bagged the bronze medal in the women’s 10m platform at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, today.

The success saw Pandelela matching her achievement at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia, and improving her fifth position in the 2019 edition in Gwangju, South Korea.

In the final act, which took place at Duna Arena, the 29-year-old diver collected 338.85 points in a total of five dives to ensure the podium position.

The 2019 world champion and Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist 16-year-old Chen Yuxi, from China, grabbed the gold medal after collecting 417.25 points, while her 15-year-old compatriot and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Quan Hongchan took home silver with 416.95 points.

Pandelela, who won a gold medal at the 2021 World Cup diving tournament in Tokyo, is the most senior athlete in the women’s 10m platform event in Budapest.

She will compete in the women’s 10m platform synchronised event with her partner, Nur Dhabitah Sabri,  this Thursday, in defence of the silver medal she won with her previous partner, Leong Mun Yee, in 2019.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s 3m springboard event ended in the qualifying round after Muhammad Syafiq Puteh and Chew Yiwei finished 35th and 51st out of a total of 55 divers respectively. – Bernama, June 28, 2022.