Pahang's young guns make early Sukma splash

SHAH ALAM: At just 11 and 12 years old, Noor Qaisara Dayana Saiful Nizam and Nur Aisy Innara Amir Hafiz secured bronze medals in the girls' synchronised 10m platform event at Selangor's Malaysia Games (Sukma). The Pahang teenagers marked their competitive debuts with a bronze, scoring 215.94 points. Sarawak's veteran duo, Nur Eilisha Rania Abrar and Raj-Nurul Farisya Alia Affendi, defended their title from the previous year, claiming silver with 259.74 points, while Perak's Siti Nurul Jannah Malik-Trisya Ann Voon took home silver with 216.18 points.

The young divers, both Fast Track Programme products, were confident in their abilities, with Innara aiming for a podium finish from the outset, stating, "I was already targeting a medal. I was aiming for silver or bronze, and thankfully I managed to get one today." Qaisara echoed this sentiment, expressing pride in her first Sukma medal.

Their journeys into diving were serendipitous, with Innara starting the sport at age 10 after a coach noticed her potential and Nur Aisy beginning at age 12 after encouragement from a gymnastics coach. Both joined the Fast Track programme last year, crediting it for enhancing their abilities. The programme, initiated by MAS and the National Sports Council, aims to rebuild Malaysia's diving pipeline, producing athletes capable of challenging for medals at the SEA Games and World Youth Championships, and eventually targeting the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

In contrast, Sarawak's older pair of Eilisha and Farisya, while less experienced, demonstrated their synchronized prowess, retaining their title despite limited recent training together. Eilisha, who trains with the national squad in Bukit Jalil, attributed their success to their established chemistry, stating, "We still have that synchronised chemistry from before and, thankfully, we were able to maintain it."

Farisya expressed her determination to secure gold in her final event of the Games. For Qaisara and Innara, the bronze medal may be just the beginning of their climbing the Malaysia's revamped development pathway.