AYG: Zhiayi Gives Malaysia A Silver Start

Loh Zhiayi finished with 241.10 points to take home a silver in the women's platform final.

PETALING JAYA: Not only did diver Loh Zhiayi present herself with a perfect belated birthday gift, she also became the first medal winner for Malaysia in the Asian Youth Games (AYG) in Nanjing, China, on Saturday.

The Taiping-born girl, who turned 16 last Tuesday, got her wish to return home with a medal, finishing with a silver in the women’s platform final.

Despite not getting her act right in the fourth dive, Zhiayi managed to hold on and finish with 241.10 points in the final.

North Korea’s Song Nam-hyang, who was third after the morning preliminaries, sprang a suprise by grabbing the gold medal with 247.60 points. China’s Zheng Qi (235.50pts) had to be content with the bronze.

Zhiayi went into the final as the second best qualifier behind Zheng Qi and she did not disappoint the Malaysian camp.

But Zhiayi knows she let the gold slip from her grasp.

“It was so near yet so far. Just because of one dive, I have to be satisfied with the silver,” said Zhiayi from Nanjing.

“Still, I’m satisfied because I achieved my target of winning a medal to make my birthday more meaningful.”

Zhiayi, who finished fifth at the World Junior Championships in Adelaide last October, has a shot at a second medal when she competes in the women’s 3m springboard on Sunday.

The double Kuantan Sukma gold medallist is the only woman representative, with Mohd Nazreen springing into action in the boys’ platform today.

Meanwhile, Mohd Danial finished fourth in the men’s 3m springboard final yesterday.

The 68-member Malaysian contingent are among the 45 nations competing in this edition of the AYG, which features 15 sports.

At the last AYG in Singapore four years ago, Malaysia won only a bronze in sailing.

But that was due to Malaysia withdrawing the whole contingent, except for sailing, following the H1N1 outbreak.