Diver Pandelela Rinong misses out on Paris Olympic ticket

Pandelela Rinong, a Malaysian diver who has won two Olympic medals and seven World Championships medals, missed out on a top-18 semi-final spot in her pet event, the women’s 10m individual platform on Tuesday.

The 2023 World Aquatics Championships is taking place in Fukuoka, Japan, from 14 to 30 July. The world’s top divers will take part in 13 different events at the Fukuoka Prefectural Pool at the ongoing world championships in Fukuoka.

The 2023 World Aquatics Championships also serve as an Olympic Games Paris 2024 qualifier. The two-time Olympic medallist Pandelela Rinong missed out on an Olympic Games Paris 2024 ticket as she finished 24th with 256.40 points on Tuesday’s event.

She performed well in her opening three dives. However, she could not perform better in her final two dives. She dropped down the standings. Compatriot Nur Eilisha Rania Abrar Raj finished 35th out of 36 divers.

Quan Hongchan, a Chinese diver, national champion, and Olympic champion, topped the prelim standings with a 436.60 total. Chen Yuxi, a Chinese diver, finished second with 393.00 points. Andrea Spendolini Sirieix, a British professional diver, finished third with 353.90 points.

The top 12 in the semi-finals will qualify for next year’s Paris Olympics. The medalists in the men’s and women’s open-water 10km qualify into the Olympics 2024. The finalists in men’s and women’s water polo qualify their nations for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. 

Pandelela Rinong represented Malaysia at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She finished 27th in the 10m platform. She won the gold medal for Malaysia at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. In the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the 10m platform, becoming the first Malaysian female athlete to win an Olympic medal. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won the silver medal for Malaysia.