KUALA LUMPUR: Nurqayyum Nazmi Nazim won Malaysia's first medal at the World Diving Junior Championships in 18 years after bagging bronze in the boys' 3m springboard in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this morning.
Nurqayyum posted an impressive five-dive total of 506.75 points. China's Yan Xin won the gold (546.60) and Norway's
Isak Borslien took silver (508.35).
The last Malaysians to win a medal at the World Juniors were Elizabeth Jimie (gold) and Malaysia Aquatics' diving technical director Bryan Nickson Lomas (bronze) in 2006 in Kuala Lumpur.
Bryan said: "We are all happy with Nurqayyum's performance. He did well despite diving with a lower degree of difficulty."
"I think we could have done better but overall I'm happy with Nurqayyum's bronze as it's our first medal at this level in a long time. We still have a long way to go," added Bryan who also won gold at the 2004 edition in Belem, Brazil.
Nurqayyum qualified for the final after finishing second with a 10-dive total of 479.30 points. Teammate Yong Rui Jie qualified in sixth place (458.40) and eventually finished 10th in the 12-man final with 440.30.