The young national combination of Yong Rui Jie-Nurqayyum Nazmi Mohamad Nazim delivered when it mattered most, producing a polished and composed performance to dive their way to gold in the men’s 3m synchronised springboard event.

They displayed consistency and control throughout all six rounds of dives, accumulating an impressive 359.85 points to stay comfortably ahead of the field. Thailand’s Chawanwat Juntaphadawon-Thitipoom Marksin took silver with 335.70 points, while Vietnam’s Hoang Tu Dang-Anh Tuan Dinh claimed bronze with 322.35 points.

Speaking after the medal ceremony, Rui Jie said he was relieved to have made amends following his bronze-medal finish in the men’s 1m springboard event last Wednesday.

“This is definitely 100% redemption of what happened; in the end we managed to prove it, despite the pressure,” he told reporters.

Nurqayyum credited Rui Jie with playing a key role in keeping him calm, saying his partner’s reassurance helped settle his nerves before taking to the board. “We are so happy … but we will definitely do much better in the next SEA Games in Malaysia,” he said.

Malaysia secured their first diving gold medal earlier today thanks to a fine performance from Nur Eilisha Rania Muhammad Abrar Raj and Nurul Farisya Alia Affendi in the women’s synchronised platform event.

With today’s results, Malaysia topped the diving competition, securing two of the four gold medals contested. Singapore was second with one gold, two silver and one bronze, followed by Thailand (1-2-0), Vietnam (0-0-1) and Indonesia (0-0-1).