HANOI: National diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri put on a sterling performance in the final of the women's 1-metre (m) springboard individual to present Malaysia with the first gold medal in the 31st SEA Games at the My Dinh Aquatic Centre here today.

This is also the first gold medal on offer at the biennial Games before the official opening ceremony is held on Thursday (May 12).

Nur Dhabitah, who had won four gold medals in her previous SEA Games outings, added one more to her collection after accumulating 290.45 points from five dives.

It was a memorable start for Malaysia when Kimberly Bong Qian Ping grabbed the silver medal with 230.00 points.

Hosts Vietnam's Ngo Phuong Mai settled for bronze with 224.00 points.

Nur Dhabitah can bag her sixth gold medal when she competes in the 10m platform synchronised with diving queen Datuk Pandelela Rinong Ramg on Wednesday (May 11) at the same venue.

-- BERNAMA