KUALA LUMPUR – National divers Datuk Pandelela Rinong and Nur Dhabitah Sabri are prepared to accept the possibility of being dropped from the Road to Gold (RTG) programme after failing to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Pandelela and Dhabitah failed in their bid for a ticket to the Olympics after finishing 12th in the 10m platform synchronised diving event at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, when they collected 240.06 points overall in the competition.
“I am fully aware that this RTG is a privilege, and it doesn’t put athletes in a comfort zone, you have to prove that you deserve to be in the programme,” said Pandalela when met at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang today.
“I will accept whatever decision will be made, and I want to thank RTG who have supported and helped me, for example, the help they gave during the Hangzhou Asian Games. It’s just that luck is not on my side for the Olympics this time,” she said.
Dhabitah, who was plagued by a triceps injury before the tournament started, also failed to stand out in her favourite event, the women’s 3m springboard individual event, when she placed 24th with 238.15 points.
She then teamed up with Wendy Ng Yan Yee for the women’s synchronised 3m springboard event but only scored 258.30 points to be in ninth place, failing to advance to the final stage.
“I know I didn’t perform the way I wanted to. I chose to wait first before making any plans for myself, as I am already disappointed,” said Dhabitah.
In October last year, the RTG committee announced the dropping of athletes from the programme, including the national men’s hockey team, who failed to reach their self-imposed gold medal target at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Underperforming shuttlers were also removed from the programme, including doubles pairs Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai, after a re-evaluation of their performance. – February 12, 2024